Homme Dam Lake
Walsh County, North Dakota290 acresView mapDirections
ND DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Homme Dam Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 27 ft max depth
- Public access
Homme Dam Lake in Walsh County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 264 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4 µg/L. Surface area: 290 acres.
Homme Dam Lake is a 290-acre mesotrophic lake in Walsh County, North Dakota with an estimated average depth of about 27 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDDEQ, last sampled 2025-06-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Homme Dam Lake covers about 290 acres in Walsh County. It has one public boat landing. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Homme Dam Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Homme Dam Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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. Homme Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Homme Dam Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Homme Dam Lake
These are the measurements ND DEQ publishes for Homme Dam 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 5.7 ft. Phosphorus 264 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 4 µg/L. TSI 60.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 264µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 4µg/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. | 60 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Homme Dam Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Jul 6, 2026, 5:00 AM from gauge 05088500 (Homme Reservoir Near Park River, ND). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
→ Homme Dam Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Water Temperature
Homme Dam Lake typically sits around 52°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 59°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 60°F) and coldest in Feb (about 41°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (41°F) to its warmest (60°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 201 field readings (2010–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Homme Dam Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~27 ft est.
Surface area
290 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by ND DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Dakota has not published bathymetry for Homme Dam Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
203 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,070 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
- Homme DamPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Homme Dam Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Homme Dam Lake in Walsh County, North Dakota — 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 Homme Dam Lake
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Fishing Homme Dam Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+52.63 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-3.23 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Homme Dam Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Homme Dam (completed 1950), built primarily for water supply on the SOUTH BRANCH OF PARK RIVER; concrete-type dam, 72 ft tall and 865 ft long.
- Surface area
- 290 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,550 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 7,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 226 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - St. Paul District
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Other;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation;Flood Risk Reduction.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID ND00310 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Homme Dam Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit ND-09020310-001-L_00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Homme Dam Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits.
- Park River WtpPark River · 2.3 mi away · NPDES ND0000060
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 Walsh County
Frequently asked questions about Homme Dam Lake
Where is Homme Dam Lake?
- Homme Dam Lake is a lake in Walsh County, North Dakota. Its water-quality measurements are published by ND DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Homme Dam Lake?
- Homme Dam Lake in Walsh County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 264 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4 µg/L. Surface area: 290 acres.
Is Homme Dam Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Homme Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Homme Dam Lake?
- Homme Dam Lake typically sits around 52°F at the surface in October, from 201 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Homme Dam Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Homme Dam 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. The lake covers 290 acres.
What is the water level at Homme Dam Lake?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for Homme Dam Lake is 1081.22 ft of water-surface elevation, recorded Jul 6, 2026, 5:00 AM at gauge 05088500. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
Are there boat ramps on Homme Dam Lake?
- Homme Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Homme Dam. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Homme Dam Lake?
- Homme Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Dakota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Homme Dam Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
131 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Dakota Department Of Environmental Quality
21NDHDWQ_WQX131 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
- 4500 NO3 E ~ Nitrate in Water- Cadmium Reduction
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Depth, fish, and access data from North Dakota Game & Fish
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory