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LakeQuality

Clark Lake

Jackson County, Michigan576 acresView mapDirections

EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Clark Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
10 ft
Typical for Michigan
Secchi · sampled 2017
Max depth
50 ft
Bathymetric survey
Area
576 acres
Surface area
  • Impaired · Mercury
  • 50 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Clark Lake in Jackson County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 50 ft. Surface area: 575.7 acres.

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Clark Lake is a 576-acre lake in Jackson County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 50 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. The lake supports 19 documented fish species including Black bullhead, Blackchin shiner, and Blacknose shiner.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2017-09-15. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

What Clark Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Clear water10 ft of visibility
  • Fishing19 species recorded
  • Deep water50 ft surveyed max depth

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Clark Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Clark Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.

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Water quality measurements for Clark Lake

These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Clark Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft. TSI 44.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)10ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorusNo reading

The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential.

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.44Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Clark Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Lake Details

Max depth

50 ft

Surface area

576 acres

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Clark Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Clark Lake in Jackson County, Michigan — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.

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Fish Species

Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.

Fishing Clark Lake

2 seasons of samples on record (2016–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.

  • Water clarity

    Improving

    2 years

  • Phosphorus

    Improving

    -7 µg/L/yr2 years

  • Chlorophyll-a

    Worsening

    +0.6 µg/L/yr2 years

EPA Impairment Status

Clark Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).

Causes of impairment

Mercury

Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.

A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MI041000020101-03 · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in Jackson County

Frequently asked questions about Clark Lake

Where is Clark Lake?

Clark Lake is a lake in Jackson County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Clark Lake?

Clark Lake in Jackson County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 50 ft. Surface area: 575.7 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Clark Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Clark Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Clark Lake?

Clark Lake has a maximum depth of 50 feet. The lake covers 575.7 acres.

What fish are in Clark Lake?

Fish species found in Clark Lake include Black bullhead, Blackchin shiner, Blacknose shiner, Bluegill, Bluntnose minnow, Brook silverside, Emerald shiner, Green sunfish, Largemouth bass, Longnose gar, Northern longear sunfish, Rock bass, Smallmouth bass, Spotfin shiner, Spottail shiner, Tadpole madtom, Western banded killifish, Yellow bullhead, Yellow perch. Clark Lake is located in Jackson County, Michigan.

Fish on this page ↑

Where this data comes from

15 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016–2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.

Collected and reported by

  • North American Lake Management SocietyNALMS15 samples · 2016–2017
Monitoring station identifiers (1)

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

Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database