Lake Elmer Davis
Owen County, Kentucky149 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Elmer Davis. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 51 ft max depth
- Public access
Lake Elmer Davis in Owen County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 44.6 µg/L. Surface area: 148.8 acres.
Lake Elmer Davis is a 149-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Owen County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 51 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2022-09-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Elmer Davis covers about 150 acres in Owen County. It has 2 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 Lake Elmer Davis, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Lake Elmer Davis is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyElevated nutrients
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 Elmer Davis 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 Elmer Davis
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Lake Elmer Davis, 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 44.6 µg/L. TSI 59.
| 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 | 44.6µg/L | Poor 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. | 59 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Elmer Davis
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~51 ft est.
Surface area
149 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 Elmer Davis.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
7 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
738 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
- DamPublic
- Elmer DavisPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake Elmer Davis
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Elmer Davis in Owen County, Kentucky — 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 Lake Elmer Davis are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Elmer Davis
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 Kentucky’s top lakes →
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Fishing Lake Elmer Davis
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2013–2022). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+2.74 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Elmer Davis is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Elmer Davis Lake Dam (completed 1958), built primarily for recreation on the Severn Creek; earth-type dam, 68 ft tall and 520 ft long.
- Surface area
- 148.8 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,151.2 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,650 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6.6 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY00059 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Owen County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Elmer Davis
Where is Lake Elmer Davis?
- Lake Elmer Davis is a lake in Owen 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 Elmer Davis?
- Lake Elmer Davis in Owen County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 44.6 µg/L. Surface area: 148.8 acres.
Is Lake Elmer Davis safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Elmer Davis?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Elmer Davis, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 51 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 148.8 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Elmer Davis?
- Lake Elmer Davis has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Dam, Elmer Davis. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Elmer Davis?
- Lake Elmer Davis has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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 Elmer Davis across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
28 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2013–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX28 samples · 2013–2022
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory