Des Arc Lake
Prairie County, Arkansas350 acresView mapDirections
Arkansas DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Des Arc Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 40 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Des Arc Lake in Prairie County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 26.4 µg/L. Surface area: 350 acres.
Des Arc Lake is a 350-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Prairie County, Arkansas with an estimated average depth of about 40 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2025-11-19. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Des Arc Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Des Arc 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 Des Arc Lake
These are the measurements Arkansas DEQ publishes for Des Arc Lake, 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 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 26.4 µg/L. TSI 60.
| 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 | 40µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 26.4µg/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. | 60 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Des Arc Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~40 ft est.
Surface area
350 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Arkansas DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Arkansas has not published bathymetry for Des Arc Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
4 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
180 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
- Bayou Des Arc Wildlife Management 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 Des Arc Lake
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Fishing Des Arc Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2023–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-3.45 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Des Arc Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Des Arc Dam (completed 1967), built primarily for recreation on the Overflow Branch; earth-type dam, 37 ft tall and 16,925 ft long.
- Surface area
- 350 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,100 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 3,500 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AR00695 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Prairie County
Frequently asked questions about Des Arc Lake
Where is Des Arc Lake?
- Des Arc Lake is a lake in Prairie County, Arkansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by Arkansas DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Des Arc Lake?
- Des Arc Lake in Prairie County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 26.4 µg/L. Surface area: 350 acres.
Is Des Arc Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Des Arc Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Des Arc Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 40 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 350 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Des Arc Lake?
- Des Arc Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Bayou Des Arc Wildlife Management Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Des Arc Lake?
- Des Arc 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.
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Where this data comes from
32 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
ARDEQH2O_WQX32 samples · 2023–2025
Analytical methods
- 4500 P J ~ Persulfate Method for Simultaneous Determination of Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory