Lake Calumet
Cook County, IllinoisView mapDirections
Illinois EPA publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Calumet. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 22 ft max depth
Lake Calumet in Cook County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.4 µg/L.
Lake Calumet is a 0-acre mesotrophic lake in Cook County, Illinois with an estimated average depth of about 22 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 15 other monitored lakes in Cook County, Lake Calumet ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Illinois EPA, last sampled 2023-07-18. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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. Lake Calumet is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pesticides, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Calumet is safe to swim in today is a call for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Calumet
These are the measurements Illinois EPA publishes for Lake Calumet, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.1 ft. Phosphorus 16.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 5.4 µg/L. TSI 49.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 16.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 5.4µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| 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 Lake Calumet
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~22 ft est.
Surface area
-
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Illinois has not published bathymetry for Lake Calumet.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
391 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
1,048 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
13.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
574 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 Lake Calumet
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Calumet in Cook County, Illinois — 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 Lake Calumet
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Illinois’s top lakes →
Follow Lake Calumet’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Lake Calumet
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2021–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.05 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Calumet is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Thomas J. O'Brien Lock and Controlling Works (completed 1960), built primarily for navigation on the CALUMET RIVER; concrete-type dam, 37 ft tall and 430 ft long.
- Surface area
- 0 ac
- Normal storage
- 0 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 9,700 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 250 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Chicago District
All listed purposes: Navigation;Other;Flood Risk Reduction.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID IL01013 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lake Calumet is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IL_RHO · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Cook County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Calumet
Where is Lake Calumet?
- Lake Calumet is a lake in Cook County, Illinois. Its water-quality measurements are published by Illinois EPA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Calumet?
- Lake Calumet in Cook County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 16.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 5.4 µg/L.
Is Lake Calumet safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Calumet is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pesticides, pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Calumet?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Calumet, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 22 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Lake Calumet across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Indiana Dunes?
Lake Calumet is about 26 miles from Indiana Dunes National Park. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Indiana Dunes →More lakes in Illinois
Other Lakes in Illinois
Mesotrophic Lakes in Illinois
Where this data comes from
54 measurements from 5 monitoring stations, 2021–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- illinois epa
IL_EPA_WQX52 samples · 2021 - USGS Illinois Water Science Center
USGS-IL2 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk method
- MEASURED IN FIELD
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
- Plant pigments, sonication & 445
Monitoring station identifiers (5)
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)