Hickory Grove Lake
Story County, Iowa107 acresView mapDirections
Iowa DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Hickory Grove Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Pathogens (E. coli, fecal)
- 44 ft max depth
Hickory Grove Lake in Story County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 24.1 µg/L. Surface area: 107 acres.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Hickory Grove Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 32 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Iowa DNR.
Hickory Grove Lake is a 107-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Story County, Iowa with an estimated average depth of about 44 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Story County, Hickory Grove Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Iowa DNR, last sampled 2024-08-25. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Hickory Grove Lake covers about 110 acres in Story County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Hickory Grove Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyBacteria advisory
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. Hickory Grove Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pathogens (E. coli, fecal), turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hickory Grove Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Hickory Grove Lake
These are the measurements Iowa DNR publishes for Hickory Grove 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 3.6 ft. Phosphorus 50.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 24.1 µg/L. TSI 60.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 50.5µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 24.1µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 60 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Hickory Grove Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Hickory Grove Lake typically sits around 66°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 77°F. Usually warmest in Jun (about 77°F) and coldest in Sep (about 66°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (66°F) to its warmest (77°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 26 field readings (2010–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Hickory Grove Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~44 ft est.
Surface area
107 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Iowa has not published bathymetry for Hickory Grove Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
7 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
981 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 Hickory Grove Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hickory Grove Lake in Story County, Iowa — 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Hickory Grove Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Hickory Grove Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Hickory Grove Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2022–2024). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening3 years
Phosphorus
Improving-12.55 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+29.1 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hickory Grove Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Hickory Grove Lake Dam (completed 1966), built primarily for recreation on the TR-EAST INDIAN CREEK; earth-type dam, 56 ft tall and 745 ft long.
- Surface area
- 107 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,141 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 3,410 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6.76 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- Story County Conservation Board
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID IA01019 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Hickory Grove Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IA 03-SSK-950 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
4 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Hickory Grove Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits, including 2 classified by the EPA as major dischargers. 4 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Nevada City Of StpNevada · 4.6 mi away · NPDES IA0031704MajorRecent violation
- Nevada City Of WwtpNevada · 5 mi away · NPDES IA0053648MajorRecent violation
- Lakeside Living, LlcColo · 0.6 mi away · NPDES IA0068527Recent violation
- Colo City Of StpColo · 2.6 mi away · NPDES IA0047759Recent violation
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 Story County
Frequently asked questions about Hickory Grove Lake
Where is Hickory Grove Lake?
- Hickory Grove Lake is a lake in Story County, Iowa. Its water-quality measurements are published by Iowa DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hickory Grove Lake?
- Hickory Grove Lake in Story County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 50.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 24.1 µg/L. Surface area: 107 acres.
Is Hickory Grove Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hickory Grove Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pathogens (E. coli, fecal), turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Hickory Grove Lake?
- Hickory Grove Lake typically sits around 66°F at the surface in September, from 26 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Hickory Grove Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hickory Grove Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 44 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 107 acres.
Explore Hickory Grove Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
40 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Iowa DNR Surface Water Monitoring Data
21IOWA_WQX40 samples · 2022–2024
Analytical methods
- Unknown
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- In-Vitro Determination of Chlorophyll
- ISU modification of APHA 2130-B
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)