Kinderhook Lake
Columbia County, New York350 acresView mapDirections
Not Rated: one monitoring station are on record, but they measured water clarity only. LakeQuality’s A–F method grades total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity; clarity is shown, not scored.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 45 ft max depth
- Limited data
Kinderhook Lake in Columbia County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 6.1 ft visibility. Surface area: 350 acres.
- Clarity
- 6.1 ft
- Max depth
- ~45 ft est.
- Area
- 350 acres
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Watch Kinderhook Lake’s letter
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Why Kinderhook Lake has no grade
Kinderhook Lake has monitoring on record from one station, but only water clarity was measured. LakeQuality’s A–F letter uses total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity against EPA National Lakes Assessment condition classes. With none of those grading measurements on record, Kinderhook Lake is Not Rated — not an F. Its 6.1-foot median from 7 readings collected 2020 is still shown as clarity, but clarity alone cannot earn a letter.
Not Rated is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.
Sampling is run by NYSDEC and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.
Kinderhook Lake is a 350-acre lake in Columbia County, New York with an estimated average depth of about 45 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NYSDEC, last sampled 2020-09-20. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
Swimming Safety
Not ratedLimited data
The letter is not a swimming clearance. Kinderhook Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Water quality measurements for Kinderhook Lake
These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.
Murky, only visible to about 6.1 ft. TSI 51.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 6.1 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No recent samples | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 51 | Eutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~45 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~16 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 350 acres |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New York has not published bathymetry for Kinderhook Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
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.
Fishing Kinderhook Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Kinderhook Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Kinderhook Lake Dam (completed 1886), built primarily for other on the VALATIE KILL; concrete-type dam, 18 ft tall and 230 ft long.
- Surface area
- 350 ac
- Normal storage
- 5,105 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,105 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 18.41 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- KINDERHOOK LAKE CORPORATION
All listed purposes: Other;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NY00887 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Kinderhook 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 NY1310-0002 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
7 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Kinderhook Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 2 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Pilot Travel Center #146Schodack, Town Of · 3.3 mi away · NPDES NY0268747Recent violation
- Valatie (V) StpValatie · 3.4 mi away · NPDES NY0021806Recent violation
- Kleeber ComplexKinderhook · 2.5 mi away · NPDES NY0224588
- Hannaford Bros Dist FacSchodack Landing · 3 mi away · NPDES NY0223085
- Birch Hill CateringCastleton On Hudson · 3.7 mi away · NPDES NY0213021
- Washington Heights Mobile Home PkIthaca · 4.4 mi away · NPDES NY0262269
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.
Graded lakes near Kinderhook Lake
Kinderhook Lake has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.
Nearby Lakes in Columbia County
Frequently asked questions about Kinderhook Lake
Where is Kinderhook Lake?
- Kinderhook Lake is a lake in Columbia County, New York. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — the only measurement available is water clarity, which is not a water-quality indicator on its own — EPA's National Lakes Assessment does not grade clarity.
What is the water quality grade for Kinderhook Lake?
- Kinderhook Lake in Columbia County, New York is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 6.1 ft visibility. Surface area: 350 acres.
Is Kinderhook Lake safe to swim in?
- The letter is not a swimming clearance. Kinderhook Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Kinderhook Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Kinderhook Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 45 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 350 acres.
Explore Kinderhook Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
7 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS7 samples · 2020
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated 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)