Council Grove Lake
Morris County, Kansas3,259 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Council Grove Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 80 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Council Grove Lake in Morris County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 260 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15 µg/L. Surface area: 3259 acres.
Council Grove Lake is a 3,259-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Morris County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 80 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2017-08-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Council Grove Lake covers about 3,300 acres in Morris County. It has 3 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Council Grove Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Council Grove Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 documented ramps
- Camping3 public campgrounds nearby
- Big water3,259 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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. Council Grove Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Council Grove Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Council Grove Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Council Grove Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.7 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 260 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 15 µg/L. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 260µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 15µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 70 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Council Grove Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~80 ft est.
Surface area
3,259 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Council Grove Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
257 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
15.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,273 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
- Council Grove MarinaPublic
- Kanza View ParkPublic
- Richey Cove ParkPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Council Grove Lake
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Council Grove Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Council Grove Lake in Morris County, Kansas — 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Council Grove Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Council Grove Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Council Grove Lake → · more Kansas lake trips
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Fishing Council Grove Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2014–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Stable2 years
Phosphorus
Improving-16.67 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.17 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Council Grove Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Council Grove Dam (completed 1964), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Grand Neosho River; earth-type dam, 105 ft tall and 6,500 ft long.
- Surface area
- 3,259 ac
- Normal storage
- 48,665 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 346,655 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 246 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Tulsa District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00001 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Council Grove Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM022001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Morris County
Frequently asked questions about Council Grove Lake
Where is Council Grove Lake?
- Council Grove Lake is a lake in Morris County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Council Grove Lake?
- Council Grove Lake in Morris County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 260 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15 µg/L. Surface area: 3259 acres.
Is Council Grove Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Council Grove Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Council Grove Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Council Grove Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 80 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 3259 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Council Grove Lake?
- Council Grove Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Council Grove Marina, Kanza View Park, Richey Cove Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Council Grove Lake?
- Council Grove Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Council Grove Lake?
- Council Grove Lake has 3 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Kanza View, Santa Fe Trail, Richey Cove. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Council Grove Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX11 samples · 2014–2017
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles