Lake Wabaunsee
Wabaunsee County, Kansas228 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Wabaunsee. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 56 ft max depth
- Limited data
Lake Wabaunsee in Wabaunsee County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 28 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 9.4 µg/L. Surface area: 228.3 acres.
Lake Wabaunsee is a 228-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Wabaunsee County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 56 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2017-08-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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. Lake Wabaunsee is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Wabaunsee is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Wabaunsee
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Lake Wabaunsee, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.9 ft. Phosphorus 28 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 9.4 µg/L. TSI 53.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 28µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 9.4µg/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. | 53 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Wabaunsee
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~56 ft est.
Surface area
228 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Lake Wabaunsee.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
12 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,299 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 Wabaunsee
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Fishing Lake Wabaunsee
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Phosphorus
Improving-1.9 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.48 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Wabaunsee is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Wabaunsee Dam (completed 1996), built primarily for water supply on the East Branch Mill Creek-Tr; earth-type dam, 66 ft tall and 1,400 ft long.
- Surface area
- 228.3 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,499.7 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,285.6 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 10.95 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- ESKRIDGE, CITY OF
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS02531 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lake Wabaunsee 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.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM042001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Wabaunsee County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Wabaunsee
Where is Lake Wabaunsee?
- Lake Wabaunsee is a lake in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Wabaunsee?
- Lake Wabaunsee in Wabaunsee County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 28 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 9.4 µg/L. Surface area: 228.3 acres.
Is Lake Wabaunsee safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Wabaunsee 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 Wabaunsee?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Wabaunsee, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 56 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 228.3 acres.
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Where this data comes from
10 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX10 samples · 2012–2017
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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)