Lake Rayburn
Benton County, Arkansas45 acresView mapDirections
Arkansas DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Rayburn. Here is what has been measured.
- Limited data
Lake Rayburn in Benton County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 21 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.6 µg/L. Surface area: 45 acres.
Lake Rayburn is a 45-acre lake in Benton County, Arkansas. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2012-09-24. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Rayburn is safe to swim in today is a call for the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Rayburn
These are the measurements Arkansas DEQ publishes for Lake Rayburn, 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 21 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 6.6 µg/L. TSI 49.
| 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 | 21µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 6.6µg/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. | 49 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Lake Rayburn
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
45 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Lake Rayburn, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Lake Rayburn
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2012–2015).
Phosphorus
Improving-0.85 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-1.93 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Rayburn is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Rayburn Dam (completed 1973), built primarily for recreation on the Little Sugar Creek-Tr; earth-type dam, 95 ft tall and 830 ft long.
- Surface area
- 45 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,300 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 3,100 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1.1 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- Bella Vista Village Property Owners Association
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AR00262 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Benton County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Rayburn
Where is Lake Rayburn?
- Lake Rayburn is a lake in Benton County, Arkansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by Arkansas DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Rayburn?
- Lake Rayburn in Benton County, Arkansas has water-quality measurements published by Arkansas DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 21 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.6 µg/L. Surface area: 45 acres.
Is Lake Rayburn safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Lake Rayburn across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
4 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
ARDEQH2O_WQX4 samples · 2012
Analytical methods
- 4500 P J ~ Persulfate Method for Simultaneous Determination of Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus
- 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.