Chenoa Lake
Bell County, Kentucky34 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Chenoa Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 36 ft max depth
- Public access
Chenoa Lake in Bell County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Surface area: 33.5 acres.
Chenoa Lake is a 34-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Bell County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 36 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Bell County, Chenoa Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2023-09-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Chenoa Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Chenoa Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Chenoa Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Chenoa Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Chenoa Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~36 ft est.
Surface area
34 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Chenoa Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
6 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,371 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Chenoa LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Chenoa Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Chenoa Lake
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Follow Chenoa Lake’s readings
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Fishing Chenoa Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2015–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.1 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Chenoa Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Chenoa Lake Dam (completed 1953), built primarily for recreation on the Clear Creek; earth-type dam, 43 ft tall and 980 ft long.
- Surface area
- 33.5 ac
- Normal storage
- 447.5 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,300 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6.4 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY00083 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Bell County
Frequently asked questions about Chenoa Lake
Where is Chenoa Lake?
- Chenoa Lake is a lake in Bell County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Chenoa Lake?
- Chenoa Lake in Bell County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Surface area: 33.5 acres.
Is Chenoa Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Chenoa Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Chenoa Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 36 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 33.5 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Chenoa Lake?
- Chenoa Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Chenoa Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Chenoa Lake?
- Chenoa Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kentucky's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Chenoa Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
24 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2015–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX24 samples · 2015–2023
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory