Lake Tapawingo
Jackson County, Missouri78 acresView mapDirections
Missouri DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Tapawingo. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 38 ft max depth
Lake Tapawingo in Jackson County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 46.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 25.1 µg/L. Surface area: 78 acres.
Lake Tapawingo is a 78-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Jackson County, Missouri with an estimated average depth of about 38 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 22 other monitored lakes in Jackson County, Lake Tapawingo ranks #6 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Missouri DNR, last sampled 2024-09-20. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Tapawingo covers about 78 acres in Jackson County. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Lake Tapawingo on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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 Tapawingo 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 Tapawingo
These are the measurements Missouri DNR publishes for Lake Tapawingo, 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 2.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 46.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 25.1 µg/L. TSI 62.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 46.3µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 25.1µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 62 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Tapawingo
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Lake Tapawingo typically sits around 75°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 80°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 82°F) and coldest in Apr (about 58°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (58°F) to its warmest (82°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 100 field readings (2010–2024) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Lake Tapawingo water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~38 ft est.
Surface area
78 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Missouri has not published bathymetry for Lake Tapawingo.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
2 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
840 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake Tapawingo
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Tapawingo in Jackson County, Missouri — 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Lake Tapawingo are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Tapawingo
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Missouri’s top lakes →
Follow Lake Tapawingo’s readings
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Fishing Lake Tapawingo
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.82 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable+0.18 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Tapawingo is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Tapawingo Dam (completed 1926), built primarily for recreation on the TR EAST FORK OF LITTLE BLUE R; earth-type dam, 55 ft tall and 970 ft long.
- Surface area
- 78 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,400 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2.03 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Lake Tapawingo Country Club
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MO20127 · Operator website
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
12 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Lake Tapawingo under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Barbour Concrete CompanyIndependence · 4.6 mi away · NPDES MO0128422Recent violation
- Meyer Laboratory IncBlue Springs · 1.6 mi away · NPDES MONX00758
- Faurecia Interior SystemsBlue Springs · 1.7 mi away · NPDES MONX00704
- Weidenhammer New Packaging LlcIndependence · 2.1 mi away · NPDES MONX00978
- Ronson Machine And ManufacturingIndependence · 3.4 mi away · NPDES MONX00670
- Thyssenkrupp Supply Chain Services Na InIndependence · 3.4 mi away · NPDES MONX01028
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 Jackson County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Tapawingo
Where is Lake Tapawingo?
- Lake Tapawingo is a lake in Jackson 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 Tapawingo?
- Lake Tapawingo in Jackson County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 46.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 25.1 µg/L. Surface area: 78 acres.
Is Lake Tapawingo safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Lake Tapawingo?
- Lake Tapawingo typically sits around 75°F at the surface in September, from 100 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2024). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Lake Tapawingo?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Tapawingo, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 38 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 78 acres.
Explore Lake Tapawingo across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
115 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
UMC115 samples · 2020–2024
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk in meters
- 4500 P E ~ Phosphorus in Water by Colorimetry- Ascorbic Acid Method
- 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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)