Hemmingway Lake
Lapeer County, Michigan65 acresView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Hemmingway Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Limited data
Hemmingway Lake in Lapeer County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.5 ft visibility. Surface area: 65 acres.
Hemmingway Lake is a 65-acre lake in Lapeer County, Michigan. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2022-07-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hemmingway Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Hemmingway Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Hemmingway Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.5 ft. TSI 48.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 7.5ft | 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. | 48 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Hemmingway Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
65 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Hemmingway Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Hemmingway Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2021–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving3 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+3.5 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hemmingway Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Hemingway Lake Dam (completed 1912), built primarily for recreation on the Hemmingway and Wipple Drain; earth-type dam, 12 ft tall and 200 ft long.
- Surface area
- 65 ac
- Normal storage
- 700 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 875 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2.6 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Hemingway Lake Home Owners Assn
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MI00294 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.28 km)
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
2 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Hemmingway Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Otter Lake WwtpOtter Lake · 1.9 mi away · NPDES MI0056979Recent violation
- Millington Creek EstatesFostoria · 4.9 mi away · NPDES MI0057194
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 Lapeer County
Frequently asked questions about Hemmingway Lake
Where is Hemmingway Lake?
- Hemmingway Lake is a lake in Lapeer County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hemmingway Lake?
- Hemmingway Lake in Lapeer County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.5 ft visibility. Surface area: 65 acres.
Is Hemmingway Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
10 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS10 samples · 2021–2022
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)