Clayton Lake Deep Dam
Union County, New Mexico175 acresView mapDirections
NMED publishes the water-quality measurements for Clayton Lake Deep Dam. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 14 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Clayton Lake Deep Dam in Union County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10.3 µg/L. Surface area: 175 acres.
Clayton Lake Deep Dam is a 175-acre lake in Union County, New Mexico with an estimated average depth of about 14 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NMED, last sampled 2016-11-02. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Clayton Lake Deep Dam is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Clayton Lake Deep Dam is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Clayton Lake Deep Dam is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Mexico Environment Department and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Clayton Lake Deep Dam
These are the measurements NMED publishes for Clayton Lake Deep Dam, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 3.9 ft. Chlorophyll-a 10.3 µg/L. TSI 55.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 10.3µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Clayton Lake Deep Dam
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~14 ft est.
Surface area
175 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NMED
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New Mexico has not published bathymetry for Clayton Lake Deep Dam.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
124 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
5,174 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
- Clayton Lake State ParkPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Fishing Clayton Lake Deep Dam
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Clayton Lake Deep Dam is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Clayton Dam (completed 1955), built primarily for recreation on the Cimarron River-Tr; earth-type dam, 82 ft tall and 720 ft long.
- Surface area
- 175 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,080 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,630 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 112 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NM00294 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.16 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Clayton Lake Deep Dam is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NM-9000.B_030 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Union County
Frequently asked questions about Clayton Lake Deep Dam
Where is Clayton Lake Deep Dam?
- Clayton Lake Deep Dam is a lake in Union County, New Mexico. Its water-quality measurements are published by NMED and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Clayton Lake Deep Dam?
- Clayton Lake Deep Dam in Union County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10.3 µg/L. Surface area: 175 acres.
Is Clayton Lake Deep Dam safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Clayton Lake Deep Dam is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Clayton Lake Deep Dam?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Clayton Lake Deep Dam, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 14 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 175 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Clayton Lake Deep Dam?
- Clayton Lake Deep Dam has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Clayton Lake State Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Clayton Lake Deep Dam?
- Clayton Lake Deep Dam 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 New Mexico's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
9 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- NM Environmental Dept./SWQB
21NMEX_WQX9 samples · 2014–2016
Analytical methods
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory