Comins Reservoir
White Pine County, Nevada80 acresView mapDirections
NDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Comins Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Comins Reservoir in White Pine County, Nevada has water-quality measurements published by NDEP, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.4 µg/L. Surface area: 80 acres.
Comins Reservoir is a 80-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in White Pine County, Nevada. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in White Pine County, Comins Reservoir ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEP, last sampled 2024-09-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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. Comins Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Comins Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Comins Reservoir
These are the measurements NDEP publishes for Comins Reservoir, 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. Chlorophyll-a 1.4 µg/L. TSI 43.
| 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 | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.4µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 43 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Comins Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
80 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Comins Reservoir, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Comins Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2017–2024). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+4.44 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.11 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Comins Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Comins Lake Dam, built primarily for fish and wildlife pond on the Steptoe Creek-Os; earth-type dam, 20 ft tall and 981 ft long.
- Surface area
- 80 ac
- Normal storage
- 300 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 300 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 60 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
All listed purposes: Fish and Wildlife Pond;Irrigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NV00174 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Comins Reservoir is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NV10-CE-33-C_00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in White Pine County
Frequently asked questions about Comins Reservoir
Where is Comins Reservoir?
- Comins Reservoir is a lake in White Pine County, Nevada. Its water-quality measurements are published by NDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Comins Reservoir?
- Comins Reservoir in White Pine County, Nevada has water-quality measurements published by NDEP, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.4 µg/L. Surface area: 80 acres.
Is Comins Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Comins Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
14 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2023–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
21NEV1_WQX14 samples · 2023–2024
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database