Lake Maloya
Colfax County, New Mexico147 acresView mapDirections
NMED publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Maloya. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 23 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Maloya in Colfax County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.2 ft visibility. Surface area: 147.3 acres.
Lake Maloya is a 147-acre lake in Colfax County, New Mexico with an estimated average depth of about 23 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NMED, last sampled 2016-10-19. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Lake Maloya is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Maloya is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Maloya is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Mexico Environment Department and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Maloya
These are the measurements NMED publishes for Lake Maloya, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.2 ft. TSI 47.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| 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. | 47 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Lake Maloya
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Lake Maloya water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~23 ft est.
Surface area
147 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NMED
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New Mexico has not published bathymetry for Lake Maloya.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
21 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
7,530 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
- Maloya LakePublic
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 Maloya
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Maloya in Colfax County, New Mexico — 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.
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Fishing Lake Maloya
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Maloya is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Maloya Dam (completed 1914), built primarily for water supply on the Chicorica Creek; earth-type dam, 110 ft tall and 1,250 ft long.
- Surface area
- 147.3 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,690 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,030 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 21.26 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF RATON
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NM00370 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lake Maloya 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 NM-2305.B_20 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Colfax County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Maloya
Where is Lake Maloya?
- Lake Maloya is a lake in Colfax County, New Mexico. Its water-quality measurements are published by NMED and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Maloya?
- Lake Maloya in Colfax County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.2 ft visibility. Surface area: 147.3 acres.
Is Lake Maloya safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Maloya is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Maloya?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Maloya, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 23 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 147.3 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Maloya?
- Lake Maloya has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Maloya Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Maloya?
- Lake Maloya 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 New Mexico's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2015–2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- NM Environmental Dept./SWQB
21NMEX_WQX8 samples · 2015–2016
Analytical methods
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
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