Galena Lake
Jo Daviess County, IllinoisView mapDirections
Illinois EPA publishes the water-quality measurements for Galena Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 48 ft max depth
- Limited data
Galena Lake in Jo Daviess County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.2 ft visibility.
Galena Lake is a lake in Jo Daviess County, Illinois with an estimated average depth of about 48 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Illinois EPA, last sampled 2020-07-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Galena Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Galena Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Galena Lake
These are the measurements Illinois EPA publishes for Galena Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 5.2 ft. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.2ft | 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) | 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 Galena Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~48 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Illinois has not published bathymetry for Galena Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
16 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
178 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
715 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 Galena Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Galena Lake in Jo Daviess County, Illinois — 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 Galena Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Illinois’s top lakes →
Follow Galena Lake’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Galena Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Galena Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Smallpox Creek Dam (completed 1974), built primarily for recreation on the SMALLPOX CREEK; rockfill-type dam, 60 ft tall and 1,100 ft long.
- Normal storage
- 4,208 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,500 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- GALENA TERRITORY ASSOCIATION, INC.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID IL01003 · Operator website
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
2 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Galena Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Iawc - Galena Territory StpGalena · 0.9 mi away · NPDES IL0061085Recent violation
- Walnut Ridge Of Galena-GalenaGalena · 3.1 mi away · NPDES IL0076601
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Jo Daviess County
Frequently asked questions about Galena Lake
Where is Galena Lake?
- Galena Lake is a lake in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. Its water-quality measurements are published by Illinois EPA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Galena Lake?
- Galena Lake in Jo Daviess County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.2 ft visibility.
Is Galena Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Galena Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Galena Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 48 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Galena Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Illinois
Other Lakes in Illinois
Eutrophic Lakes in Illinois
Where this data comes from
1 measurement 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
NALMS1 sample · 2020
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)