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LakeQuality

Gridley City Lake

Coffey County, KansasView mapDirections

NR
Not rated

Not enough samples to grade — no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years). No letter yet. Here is what we do have.

Water temp
No reading
No gauge
Clarity
1.8 ft
Secchi · sampled 2016
Max depth
~27 ft est.
GLOBathy model
Level
No reading
No gauge
Trend
No reading
Not enough history
  • Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
  • 27 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Gridley City Lake in Coffey County, Kansas is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 1.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 47.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 27 µg/L.

Clarity
1.8 ft
Max depth
~27 ft est.
Phosphorus
47.5 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a
27 µg/L
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Stays near Gridley City Lake

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Watch Gridley City Lake’s letter

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Why Gridley City Lake has no grade

We grade a lake only when the monitoring record supports a letter: at least three phosphorus or chlorophyll-a samples in the last ten years, scored against EPA National Lakes Assessment thresholds for this lake’s ecoregion. For Gridley City Lake, no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years). Sampling here has recorded water clarity, phosphorus and algae (chlorophyll-a).

Not Rated is not an F. It is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. The water here may be excellent or poor; nobody has measured enough of it to say. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.

Sampling is run by KDHE and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.

Gridley City Lake is a lake in Coffey County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 27 feet.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2016-08-03. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.

Swimming Safety

Not rated

Limited data

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Gridley City Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.

Compare the safest swimming lakes near Kansas City

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Water quality measurements for Gridley City Lake

These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.

Very murky, less than 1.8 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 47.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 27 µg/L. TSI 64.

MetricValueGrade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)1.8 ftNot graded
Phosphorus47.5 µg/LNot graded
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)27 µg/LNot graded
Trophic State Index (TSI)64Eutrophic

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

Lake Details

CharacteristicValue
Maximum Depth~27 ft est.
Average Depth~7 ft est.

Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Gridley City Lake.

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
Surface area
30 acres
Shoreline
1 mi
Elevation
1,129 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.

Fishing Gridley City Lake

Reservoir Info (USACE NID)

Gridley City Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the (completed 1961), built primarily for water supply on the Varvel Creek; earth-type dam, 16 ft tall and 1,500 ft long.

Normal storage
190 ac-ft
Max storage
366 ac-ft
Drainage area
1 sq mi
Hazard class
Low
Owner
GRIDLEY, CITY OF

Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS02536 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.22 km)

EPA Impairment Status

Gridley City Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).

Causes of impairment

Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)Oxygen depletion (low DO)

A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM045601 · Official waterbody report

Graded lakes near Gridley City Lake

Gridley City Lake has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.

Nearby Lakes in Coffey County

Frequently asked questions about Gridley City Lake

Where is Gridley City Lake?

Gridley City Lake is a lake in Coffey County, Kansas. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years).

What is the water quality grade for Gridley City Lake?

Gridley City Lake in Coffey County, Kansas is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 1.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 47.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 27 µg/L.

Is Gridley City Lake safe to swim in?

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Gridley City Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.

How deep is Gridley City Lake?

No published bathymetric survey covers Gridley City Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 27 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.

Where this data comes from

5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Kansas Department Of Health And Environment21KAN001_WQX5 samples · 2016

Analytical methods

  • Depth, Secchi disk depth
  • Phosphorus by Colorimetry
  • 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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)