Galesville Reservoir
Douglas County, Oregon640 acresView mapDirections
Oregon DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Galesville Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 88 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Galesville Reservoir in Douglas County, Oregon has water-quality measurements published by Oregon DEQ, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.6 µg/L. Surface area: 640 acres.
Galesville Reservoir is a 640-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Douglas County, Oregon with an estimated average depth of about 88 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Douglas County, Galesville Reservoir ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Oregon DEQ, last sampled 2025-09-30. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Galesville Reservoir covers about 640 acres in Douglas County. It has 2 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Galesville Reservoir on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Galesville Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
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. Galesville Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Galesville Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Galesville Reservoir
These are the measurements Oregon DEQ publishes for Galesville Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Chlorophyll-a 1.6 µg/L. TSI 35.
| 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 | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.6µg/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. | 35 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Galesville Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Galesville Reservoir water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~88 ft est.
Surface area
640 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Oregon DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Oregon has not published bathymetry for Galesville Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
73 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,841 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
- Chief Milwaleta Day Use ParkPublic
- Chief Miwaleta ParkPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Galesville Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Galesville Reservoir in Douglas County, Oregon — 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 Galesville Reservoir
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Galesville Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2024–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Chlorophyll-a
Stable0 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Galesville Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Galesville (completed 1985), built primarily for irrigation on the Cow Creek, Umpqua River; gravity-type dam, 167 ft tall and 950 ft long.
- Surface area
- 640 ac
- Normal storage
- 41,890 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 117,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 73.3 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Douglas County, Oregon
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation;Hydroelectric;Flood Risk Reduction.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID OR00748 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Galesville Reservoir is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit OR_LK_1710030206_02_100195 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Douglas County
Frequently asked questions about Galesville Reservoir
Where is Galesville Reservoir?
- Galesville Reservoir is a lake in Douglas County, Oregon. Its water-quality measurements are published by Oregon DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Galesville Reservoir?
- Galesville Reservoir in Douglas County, Oregon has water-quality measurements published by Oregon DEQ, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.6 µg/L. Surface area: 640 acres.
Is Galesville Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Galesville Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Galesville Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Galesville Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 88 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 640 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Galesville Reservoir?
- Galesville Reservoir has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Chief Milwaleta Day Use Park, Chief Miwaleta Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Galesville Reservoir?
- Galesville Reservoir has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Oregon's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Galesville Reservoir across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2024–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Department of Environmental Quality - State of Oregon
OREGONDEQ8 samples · 2024–2025
Analytical methods
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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
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