Cove Lake
Logan County, Arkansas166 acresView mapDirections
Arkansas DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Cove Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
- Limited data
Cove Lake in Logan County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 43.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.5 µg/L. Surface area: 166 acres.
Cove Lake is a 166-acre lake in Logan County, Arkansas. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2012-10-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Cove Lake covers about 170 acres in Logan County. It has one public boat landing. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Cove Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Cove Lake 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. Cove Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Cove Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Cove Lake
These are the measurements Arkansas DEQ publishes for Cove Lake, 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 3.5 ft. Phosphorus 43.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 8.5 µg/L. TSI 56.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 43.5µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 8.5µg/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. | 56 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Cove Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
166 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Arkansas DEQ
No bathymetric survey has been published for Cove Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Cove Lake Recreation AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Cove Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Cove Lake in Logan County, Arkansas — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Cove Lake
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Fishing Cove Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Stable2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Cove Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Cove Lake (completed 1938), built primarily for fish and wildlife pond on the Cove Creek; earth-type dam, 62 ft tall and 900 ft long.
- Surface area
- 166 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,300 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,300 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 9 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USDA FS
All listed purposes: Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AR00886 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Cove Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit AR_11110202_4030 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Logan County
Frequently asked questions about Cove Lake
Where is Cove Lake?
- Cove Lake is a lake in Logan County, Arkansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by Arkansas DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Cove Lake?
- Cove Lake in Logan County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 43.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.5 µg/L. Surface area: 166 acres.
Is Cove Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cove Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Cove Lake?
- Cove Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Cove Lake Recreation Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Cove Lake?
- Cove 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 Arkansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Cove Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
24 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS Arkansas Water Science Center
USGS-AR24 samples · 2012
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk method
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory