Lake Henry
Crowley County, Colorado1,194 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Henry. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Metals (other than mercury)
- 25 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Henry in Crowley County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 68 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 16.3 µg/L. Surface area: 1194 acres.
Lake Henry is a 1,194-acre lake in Crowley County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 25 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2023-08-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Lake Henry is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water1,194 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Henry is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Henry is safe to swim in today is a call for the Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Henry
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Lake Henry, 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 1.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 68 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 16.3 µg/L. TSI 65.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 68µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 16.3µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 65 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Henry
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~25 ft est.
Surface area
1,194 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Colorado WQCD
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Colorado has not published bathymetry for Lake Henry.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
13 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
4,367 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
- Lake Henry State Wildlife AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Lake Henry
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Fishing Lake Henry
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Henry is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Henry (completed 1914), built primarily for irrigation on the Horse Creek-Os; earth-type dam, 24 ft tall and 12,920 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,194 ac
- Normal storage
- 9,500 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 14,914 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 7 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- COLORADO CANAL COMPANY (MATT ROULEAU)
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO01116 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lake Henry 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: Aquatic life.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit COARLA12_B · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Crowley County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Henry
Where is Lake Henry?
- Lake Henry is a lake in Crowley County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Henry?
- Lake Henry in Crowley County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 68 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 16.3 µg/L. Surface area: 1194 acres.
Is Lake Henry safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Henry is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Henry?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Henry, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 25 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 1194 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Henry?
- Lake Henry has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Henry State Wildlife Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Henry?
- Lake Henry has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Colorado's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
4 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment-WQCD
21COL001_WQX4 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk depth measurement
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Nitrogen in Water by Pyrolysis Detection
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