Kannapolis Lake
Rowan County, North Carolina267 acresView mapDirections
NC DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Kannapolis Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 46 ft max depth
- Limited data
Kannapolis Lake in Rowan County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 20 µg/L. Surface area: 267 acres.
Kannapolis Lake is a 267-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Rowan County, North Carolina with an estimated average depth of about 46 feet. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Rowan County, Kannapolis Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NCDEQ, last sampled 2021-09-21. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Kannapolis Lake covers about 270 acres in Rowan County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Kannapolis Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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 Kannapolis Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Kannapolis Lake
These are the measurements NC DEQ publishes for Kannapolis 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. Chlorophyll-a 20 µg/L. TSI 57.
| 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) | 20µg/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. | 57 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Kannapolis Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~46 ft est.
Surface area
267 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Carolina has not published bathymetry for Kannapolis Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
11 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
741 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 Kannapolis Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Kannapolis Lake in Rowan County, North Carolina — 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 Kannapolis Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Kannapolis Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Kannapolis Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Kannapolis Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Kannapolis Dam (completed 1940), built primarily for water supply on the Irish Buffalo Creek; earth-type dam, 40 ft tall and 830 ft long.
- Surface area
- 267 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,420 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,931 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 10.51 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Kannapolis
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NC00324 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Rowan County
Frequently asked questions about Kannapolis Lake
Where is Kannapolis Lake?
- Kannapolis Lake is a lake in Rowan County, North Carolina. Its water-quality measurements are published by NC DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Kannapolis Lake?
- Kannapolis Lake in Rowan County, North Carolina has water-quality measurements published by NC DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 20 µg/L. Surface area: 267 acres.
Is Kannapolis Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Kannapolis Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Kannapolis Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 46 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 267 acres.
Explore Kannapolis Lake across LakeQuality
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Eutrophic Lakes in North Carolina
Where this data comes from
29 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Carolina Dept of Environmental Quality NCDEQ-DWR WQX
21NC03WQ29 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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)