Dry Lake
Ramsey County, North DakotaView mapDirections
ND DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Dry Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 53 ft max depth
- Limited data
Dry Lake in Ramsey County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 647.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.1 µg/L.
Dry Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Ramsey County, North Dakota with an estimated average depth of about 53 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 7 other monitored lakes in Ramsey County, Dry Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDDEQ, last sampled 2023-10-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Dry Lake Water Quality Summary (2026)
A printable one-page summary for Dry Lake: clarity, phosphorus, algae, multi-year trend, depth, and fish — with sources.
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 Dry Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Dry Lake
These are the measurements ND DEQ publishes for Dry 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 2.8 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 647.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 13.1 µg/L. TSI 72.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 648µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 13.1µg/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. | 72 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Dry Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Jul 6, 2026, 4:45 AM from gauge 05056241 (Dry Lake Near Penn, ND). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
→ Dry Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Water Temperature
Dry Lake typically sits around 46°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 71°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 74°F) and coldest in Nov (about 33°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (33°F) to its warmest (74°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 321 field readings (2010–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Dry Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~53 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Dakota has not published bathymetry for Dry Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1,309 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
4,418 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
19 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,434 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Dry Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Dry Lake in Ramsey County, North Dakota — 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 Dry Lake
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Fishing Dry Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2020–2023).
Water clarity
Improving4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+61.1 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-39.71 µg/L/yr4 years
Nearby Lakes in Ramsey County
Frequently asked questions about Dry Lake
Where is Dry Lake?
- Dry Lake is a lake in Ramsey County, North Dakota. Its water-quality measurements are published by ND DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Dry Lake?
- Dry Lake in Ramsey County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 647.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.1 µg/L.
Is Dry Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Dry Lake?
- Dry Lake typically sits around 46°F at the surface in October, from 321 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Dry Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Dry Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 53 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
What is the water level at Dry Lake?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for Dry Lake is 1452.29 ft of water-surface elevation, recorded Jul 6, 2026, 4:45 AM at gauge 05056241. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
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Where this data comes from
31 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS North Dakota Water Science Center
USGS-ND31 samples · 2020–2023
Analytical methods
- P, wu, WCA, persulfate CF color
- Plant pigments, sonication & 445
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)
Depth, fish, and access data from North Dakota Game & Fish