Herb Smith Lake
Harlan County, Kentucky219 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Herb Smith Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 92 ft max depth
- Public access
Herb Smith Lake in Harlan County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Surface area: 219 acres.
Herb Smith Lake is a 219-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Harlan County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 92 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2023-09-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Herb Smith Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Herb Smith Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Herb Smith Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. TSI 53.
| 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 | 30µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| 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 Herb Smith Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~92 ft est.
Surface area
219 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Herb Smith Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
24 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,470 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.
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Stays near Herb Smith Lake
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Fishing Herb Smith Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2015–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+2.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Herb Smith Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Cranks Creek Lake Dam (completed 1963), built primarily for recreation on the Martins Fork; earth-type dam, 120 ft tall and 635 ft long.
- Surface area
- 219 ac
- Normal storage
- 6,400 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 18,200 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 24.9 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- HARLAN COUNTY FISCAL COURT
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY00046 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Harlan County
Frequently asked questions about Herb Smith Lake
Where is Herb Smith Lake?
- Herb Smith Lake is a lake in Harlan County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Herb Smith Lake?
- Herb Smith Lake in Harlan County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Surface area: 219 acres.
Is Herb Smith Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Herb Smith Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Herb Smith Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 92 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 219 acres.
Can I fish at Herb Smith Lake?
- Public access to Herb Smith Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kentucky's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
24 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2015–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX24 samples · 2015–2023
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)