Lake Cannigo
Nicholas County, Kentucky114 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Cannigo. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 43 ft max depth
- Public access
Lake Cannigo in Nicholas County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Surface area: 114 acres.
Lake Cannigo is a 114-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Nicholas County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 43 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2022-09-13. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate 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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Cannigo is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Cannigo
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Lake Cannigo, 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. TSI 53.
| 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) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Cannigo
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~43 ft est.
Surface area
114 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Lake Cannigo.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
909 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.
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Stays near Lake Cannigo
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Fishing Lake Cannigo
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2014–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+2.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Cannigo is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Carnico Dam (completed 1963), built primarily for recreation on the Big Brushy Creek; earth-type dam, 68 ft tall and 1,030 ft long.
- Surface area
- 114 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,362.5 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,962.5 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0.67 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- NICHOLAS COUNTY FISCAL COURT
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY00112 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.61 km)
Nearby Lakes in Nicholas County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Cannigo
Where is Lake Cannigo?
- Lake Cannigo is a lake in Nicholas County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Cannigo?
- Lake Cannigo in Nicholas County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Surface area: 114 acres.
Is Lake Cannigo safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Cannigo?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Cannigo, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 43 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 114 acres.
Can I fish at Lake Cannigo?
- Public access to Lake Cannigo is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kentucky's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lake Cannigo across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
21 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2014–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX21 samples · 2014–2022
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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)