Doe Run Lake
Kenton County, Kentucky51 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Doe Run Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 31 ft max depth
- Public access
Doe Run Lake in Kenton County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Surface area: 50.7 acres.
Doe Run Lake is a 51-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Kenton County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 31 feet. Overall water quality is declining 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, KY DOW, last sampled 2022-09-21. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Doe Run Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
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. Doe Run Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Doe Run Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Doe Run Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Doe Run 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 30 µg/L. TSI 53.
| 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 | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading 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. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Doe Run Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~31 ft est.
Surface area
51 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Doe Run Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
9 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
630 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
- Doe RunPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Doe Run Lake
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Follow Doe Run Lake’s readings
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Fishing Doe Run Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2014–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+2.24 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Doe Run Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Banklick Creek FRS No 3 (completed 1980), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Banklick Creek; earth-type dam, 112 ft tall and 950 ft long.
- Surface area
- 50.7 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,214 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,492 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 9.8 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- KENTON COUNTY FISCAL COURT
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY01010 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.26 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Doe Run Lake 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 KY-2694 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Kenton County
Frequently asked questions about Doe Run Lake
Where is Doe Run Lake?
- Doe Run Lake is a lake in Kenton County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Doe Run Lake?
- Doe Run Lake in Kenton County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Surface area: 50.7 acres.
Is Doe Run Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Doe Run Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Doe Run Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Doe Run Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 31 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 50.7 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Doe Run Lake?
- Doe Run Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Doe Run. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Doe Run Lake?
- Doe Run 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 Kentucky's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Doe Run Lake across LakeQuality
23.6 mi away · cable-pulled, no boat wake
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where this data comes from
16 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2014–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX16 samples · 2014–2022
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory