Duck Lake
Cayuga County, New YorkView mapDirections
Not Rated: one monitoring station are on record, but they measured water clarity only. LakeQuality’s A–F method grades total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity; clarity is shown, not scored.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 35 ft max depth
- Limited data
Duck Lake in Cayuga County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 4.3 ft visibility.
- Clarity
- 4.3 ft
- Max depth
- ~35 ft est.
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Watch Duck Lake’s letter
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Why Duck Lake has no grade
Duck Lake has monitoring on record from one station, but only water clarity was measured. LakeQuality’s A–F letter uses total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity against EPA National Lakes Assessment condition classes. With none of those grading measurements on record, Duck Lake is Not Rated — not an F. Its 4.3-foot median from 6 readings collected 2020 is still shown as clarity, but clarity alone cannot earn a letter.
Not Rated is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.
Sampling is run by NYSDEC and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.
Duck Lake is a lake in Cayuga County, New York with an estimated average depth of about 35 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-08-20. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
Swimming Safety
Not ratedLimited data
The letter is not a swimming clearance. Duck Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Water quality measurements for Duck Lake
These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.
Murky, only visible to about 4.3 ft. TSI 56.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 4.3 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No recent samples | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 56 | Eutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~35 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~13 ft est. |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New York has not published bathymetry for Duck Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
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.
Fishing Duck Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Duck Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NY0704-0025 · Official waterbody report
Graded lakes near Duck Lake
Duck Lake has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.
Nearby Lakes in Cayuga County
Frequently asked questions about Duck Lake
Where is Duck Lake?
- Duck Lake is a lake in Cayuga County, New York. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity.
What is the water quality grade for Duck Lake?
- Duck Lake in Cayuga County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 4.3 ft visibility.
Is Duck Lake safe to swim in?
- The letter is not a swimming clearance. Duck Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Duck Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Duck Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 35 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS6 samples · 2020
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)