Jackrabbit Lake
Jackson County, Missouri28 acresView mapDirections
Missouri DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Jackrabbit Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 31 ft max depth
Jackrabbit Lake in Jackson County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 148.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 40 µg/L. Surface area: 28 acres.
Jackrabbit Lake is a 28-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Jackson County, Missouri with an estimated average depth of about 31 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 22 other monitored lakes in Jackson County, Jackrabbit Lake ranks #10 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Missouri DNR, last sampled 2023-10-03. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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. Jackrabbit Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Jackrabbit Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Jackrabbit Lake
These are the measurements Missouri DNR publishes for Jackrabbit Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 148.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 40 µg/L. TSI 72.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 148µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 40µg/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. | 72 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Jackrabbit Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Jackrabbit Lake typically sits around 84°F at the surface in August. Summer average is about 84°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 86°F) and coldest in Jun (about 82°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (82°F) to its warmest (86°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 24 field readings (2010–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Jackrabbit Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~31 ft est.
Surface area
28 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Missouri has not published bathymetry for Jackrabbit Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1 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 Jackrabbit Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Jackrabbit Lake in Jackson County, Missouri — 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 Jackrabbit Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Jackrabbit Lake
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Fishing Jackrabbit Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+12.62 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+5.57 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Jackrabbit Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Jackrabbit Lake Dam (completed 1955), built primarily for recreation on the TR-EAST BR-BIG CREEK; earth-type dam, 27 ft tall.
- Surface area
- 28 ac
- Normal storage
- 233 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 404 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 470 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- MO DEPT OF CONSERVATION
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MO20027 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Jackrabbit Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MO_7391.00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Jackson County
Frequently asked questions about Jackrabbit Lake
Where is Jackrabbit Lake?
- Jackrabbit Lake is a lake in Jackson County, Missouri. Its water-quality measurements are published by Missouri DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Jackrabbit Lake?
- Jackrabbit Lake in Jackson County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 148.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 40 µg/L. Surface area: 28 acres.
Is Jackrabbit Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Jackrabbit Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Jackrabbit Lake?
- Jackrabbit Lake typically sits around 84°F at the surface in August, from 24 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Jackrabbit Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Jackrabbit Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 31 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 28 acres.
Explore Jackrabbit Lake across LakeQuality
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Other Lakes in Missouri
Hypereutrophic Lakes in Missouri
Where this data comes from
83 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
UMC81 samples · 2020–2023 - Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources
MDNR2 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk in meters
- 4500 P E ~ Phosphorus in Water by Colorimetry- Ascorbic Acid Method
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- Nitrogen and Phosphorus, Total, Whole-water, Alkaline Persulfate Digest
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)