Kanopolis Lake
Ellsworth County, Kansas3,815 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Kanopolis Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 74 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Kanopolis Lake in Ellsworth County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 70 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10 µg/L. Surface area: 3815 acres.
Kanopolis Lake is a 3,815-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Ellsworth County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 74 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2018-08-21. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Kanopolis Lake covers about 3,800 acres in Ellsworth County. It has 3 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Kanopolis Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Kanopolis Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 documented ramps
- Camping2 public campgrounds nearby
- Big water3,815 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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. Kanopolis Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), salinity / chlorides. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Kanopolis Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Kanopolis Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Kanopolis 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 2.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 70 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 10 µg/L. TSI 61.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 70µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 10µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 61 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Kanopolis Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Kanopolis Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~74 ft est.
Surface area
3,815 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Kanopolis Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
7,725 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
16.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,467 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
- Kanopolis-Buzzard BayPublic
- Kanopolis-South Shore BeachPublic
- Kanopolis-South ShorePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Kanopolis Lake
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Kanopolis Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Kanopolis Lake in Ellsworth County, Kansas — 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 Kanopolis Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Kanopolis Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2012–2018). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Stable3 years
Phosphorus
Improving-5 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.42 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Kanopolis Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Kanopolis Dam (completed 1948), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Smoky Hill River; earth-type dam, 131 ft tall and 15,360 ft long.
- Surface area
- 3,815 ac
- Normal storage
- 61,382 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 433,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 7,860 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Kansas City District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00005 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Kanopolis Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM016001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Ellsworth County
Frequently asked questions about Kanopolis Lake
Where is Kanopolis Lake?
- Kanopolis Lake is a lake in Ellsworth County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Kanopolis Lake?
- Kanopolis Lake in Ellsworth County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 70 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10 µg/L. Surface area: 3815 acres.
Is Kanopolis Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Kanopolis Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), salinity / chlorides. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Kanopolis Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Kanopolis Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 74 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 3815 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Kanopolis Lake?
- Kanopolis Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Kanopolis-Buzzard Bay, Kanopolis-South Shore Beach, Kanopolis-South Shore. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Kanopolis Lake?
- Kanopolis Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Kanopolis Lake?
- Kanopolis Lake has 2 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Riverside (ks), Venango Park. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Kanopolis Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
14 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX14 samples · 2012–2018
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles