Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake
Wells County, North Dakota7 acresView mapDirections
ND DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 16 ft max depth
- Limited data
Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake in Wells County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.5 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10.3 µg/L. Surface area: 7 acres.
Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake is a 7-acre lake in Wells County, North Dakota with an estimated average depth of about 16 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDDEQ, last sampled 2021-10-04. 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 Hurdsfield-Tuffy 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 Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake
These are the measurements ND DEQ publishes for Hurdsfield-Tuffy 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 9.5 ft. Chlorophyll-a 10.3 µg/L. TSI 49.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 9.5ft | 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) | 10.3µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 49 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake typically sits around 54°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 64°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 72°F) and coldest in May (about 48°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (48°F) to its warmest (72°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 19 field readings (2016–2021) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~16 ft est.
Surface area
7 acres
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 Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
62 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,824 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 Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake
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Fishing Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Thompson Dam; Norman 1 (completed 1968), built primarily for recreation on the James River-TR; earth-type dam, 22 ft tall and 368 ft long.
- Surface area
- 7 ac
- Normal storage
- 44 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 68 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0.44 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Norman Thompson
All listed purposes: Recreation;Fish and Wildlife Pond.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID ND00773 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.81 km)
Nearby Lakes in Wells County
Frequently asked questions about Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake
Where is Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake?
- Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake is a lake in Wells 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 Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake?
- Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake in Wells County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.5 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10.3 µg/L. Surface area: 7 acres.
Is Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake?
- Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake typically sits around 54°F at the surface in October, from 19 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2016–2021). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 16 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 7 acres.
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Dakota Department Of Environmental Quality
21NDHDWQ_WQX8 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Depth, fish, and access data from North Dakota Game & Fish