Lake of the Woods
Boone County, Missouri9 acresView mapDirections
Missouri DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake of the Woods. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Lake of the Woods in Boone County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.9 µg/L. Surface area: 9 acres.
Lake of the Woods is a 9-acre lake in Boone County, Missouri.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Missouri DNR, last sampled 2022-08-31. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake of the Woods is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake of the Woods is safe to swim in today is a call for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake of the Woods
These are the measurements Missouri DNR publishes for Lake of the Woods, 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 7 ft. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 4.9 µg/L. TSI 48.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 20µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 4.9µg/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. | 48 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Lake of the Woods
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
9 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Lake of the Woods, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Lake of the Woods
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake of the Woods is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Welch Lake Dam (completed 1960), built primarily for recreation on the HOMINY BRANCH; earth-type dam, 22 ft tall.
- Surface area
- 9 ac
- Normal storage
- 49 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 106 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2,100 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- EDW,INC.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MO10733 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.46 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Lake of the Woods is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MO_7436.00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
36 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Lake of the Woods under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 9 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Eurofins Eag Agroscience, LlcColumbia · 0.8 mi away · NPDES MO0104591Recent violation
- Manchester Heights Subdivision WwtfColumbia · 0.9 mi away · NPDES MO0081922Recent violation
- Bcrsd Highfield Acres WwtfColumbia · 0.9 mi away · NPDES MO0053376Recent violation
- Bcrsd, Sunrise Estates Nw WwtfColumbia · 0.9 mi away · NPDES MO0090824Recent violation
- El Ray Mobile Home ParkColumbia · 1 mi away · NPDES MO0105520Recent violation
- Lake Of The Woods MhpColumbia · 1.3 mi away · NPDES MO0109631Recent violation
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Boone County
Frequently asked questions about Lake of the Woods
Where is Lake of the Woods?
- Lake of the Woods is a lake in Boone County, Missouri. Its water-quality measurements are published by Missouri DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake of the Woods?
- Lake of the Woods in Boone County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.9 µg/L. Surface area: 9 acres.
Is Lake of the Woods safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake of the Woods is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
3 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources
MDNR3 samples · 2022
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk in meters
- Nitrogen and Phosphorus, Total, Whole-water, Alkaline Persulfate Digest
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)