Lake
Thurston County, Washington130 acresView mapDirections
Washington Ecology publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- 49 ft max depth
- Public access
Lake in Thurston County, Washington has water-quality measurements published by Washington Ecology, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.3 µg/L. Surface area: 130 acres.
Lake is a 130-acre cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Thurston County, Washington with an estimated average depth of about 49 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 15 other monitored lakes in Thurston County, Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, WA Ecology, last sampled 2025-12-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
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 is safe to swim in today is a call for the Washington State Department of Ecology and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake
These are the measurements Washington Ecology publishes for Lake, 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 7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.3 µg/L. TSI 33.
| 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 | 7µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.3µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 33 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~49 ft est.
Surface area
130 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Washington Ecology
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Washington has not published bathymetry for Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
466 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.
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Stays near Lake
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Fishing Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 10 years of monitoring (2012–2025).
Phosphorus
Stable+0.05 µg/L/yr7 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.06 µg/L/yr9 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Summit Lake Dam (completed 1955), built primarily for recreation on the Kennedy Creek; earth-type dam, 7 ft tall and 90 ft long.
- Surface area
- 130 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,570 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,570 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Boy Scouts of America
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID WA01144 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Thurston County
Frequently asked questions about Lake
Where is Lake?
- Lake is a lake in Thurston County, Washington. Its water-quality measurements are published by Washington Ecology and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake?
- Lake in Thurston County, Washington has water-quality measurements published by Washington Ecology, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.3 µg/L. Surface area: 130 acres.
Is Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 49 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 130 acres.
Can I fish at Lake?
- Public access to Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Washington's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
145 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Thurston County Health Department
THURSTONCOUNTY145 samples · 2012–2025
Analytical methods
- External files contain methodological data
- Total Nitrogen, calculated (TKN + Nitrate/Nitrite)
- Phosphorus/Orthophosphate by Automated Ascorbic Acid Reduction Method
- Fluorometric determination of chlorophyll a in presence of pheophytin
- Nitrogen, Persulfate Method
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)