El Vado Reservoir
Rio Arriba County, New Mexico3,380 acresView mapDirections
NMED publishes the water-quality measurements for El Vado Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Public access
- Limited data
El Vado Reservoir in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.9 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.4 µg/L. Surface area: 3380 acres.
El Vado Reservoir is a 3,380-acre lake in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. 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, NMED, last sampled 2014-10-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
El Vado Reservoir covers about 3,400 acres in Rio Arriba County. It has one public boat landing. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around El Vado Reservoir on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What El Vado Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water3,380 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether El Vado Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Mexico Environment Department and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for El Vado Reservoir
These are the measurements NMED publishes for El Vado Reservoir, 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 2.9 ft of visibility. Chlorophyll-a 3.4 µg/L. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.4µg/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. | 52 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about El Vado Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
3,380 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NMED
No bathymetric survey has been published for El Vado Reservoir, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- El Vado Lake State ParkPublic
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 El Vado Reservoir
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Fishing El Vado Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2014). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
El Vado Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the El Vado Dam (completed 1935), built primarily for irrigation on the Rio Chama River; other-type dam, 230 ft tall and 1,326 ft long.
- Surface area
- 3,380 ac
- Normal storage
- 196,250 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 209,330 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 794.06 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NM10008 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Rio Arriba County
Frequently asked questions about El Vado Reservoir
Where is El Vado Reservoir?
- El Vado Reservoir is a lake in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Its water-quality measurements are published by NMED and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of El Vado Reservoir?
- El Vado Reservoir in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.9 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.4 µg/L. Surface area: 3380 acres.
Is El Vado Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on El Vado Reservoir?
- El Vado Reservoir has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include El Vado Lake State Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at El Vado Reservoir?
- El Vado Reservoir 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 New Mexico's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore El Vado Reservoir across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
13 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2014. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- NM Environmental Dept./SWQB
21NMEX_WQX13 samples · 2012–2014
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory