Lake Wawasee
Kosciusko County, IndianaView mapDirections
IDEM publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Wawasee. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · PCBs
- 45 ft max depth
- Limited data
Lake Wawasee in Kosciusko County, Indiana has water-quality measurements published by IDEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 15.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.6 µg/L.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Lake Wawasee, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 75 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Indiana DNR.
Lake Wawasee is a mesotrophic lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana with an estimated average depth of about 45 feet. Water clarity is declining over recent sampling years. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, IDEM, last sampled 2023-07-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Wawasee has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Lake Wawasee on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Lake Wawasee is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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 Wawasee is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Wawasee is safe to swim in today is a call for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lake Wawasee
These are the measurements IDEM publishes for Lake Wawasee, 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 5.9 ft. Phosphorus 15.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.6 µg/L. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 15.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 2.6µg/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. | 52 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Lake Wawasee
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~45 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Indiana has not published bathymetry for Lake Wawasee.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
27 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
2,750 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
14.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
850 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.
Recreation & Access
- Wawasee Boat CompanySemi-private
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake Wawasee
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Wawasee in Kosciusko County, Indiana — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Wawasee
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.
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Follow Lake Wawasee’s readings
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Fishing Lake Wawasee
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2020–2021). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Improving-2.2 µg/L/yr2 years
EPA Impairment Status
Lake Wawasee 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: Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit INJ01P1023_00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
6 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Lake Wawasee under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Turkey Creek Regional Sewer DistrictCromwell · 2.9 mi away · NPDES IN0045802Recent violation
- Wawasee PlazaSyracuse · 1.2 mi away · NPDES IN0045225
- Blue Heron Storage CondominiumsSyracuse · 1.4 mi away · NPDES INR10K960
- Wawasee Circuit 12 441 6989 Rebuild ProjectSyracuse · 1.5 mi away · NPDES INRA02749
- Dollar GeneralSyracuse · 1.5 mi away · NPDES INRA03211
- Lake Dalecarlia Regional WasteLowell · 2.9 mi away · NPDES IN0046647
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 Kosciusko County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Wawasee
Where is Lake Wawasee?
- Lake Wawasee is a lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana. Its water-quality measurements are published by IDEM and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Wawasee?
- Lake Wawasee in Kosciusko County, Indiana has water-quality measurements published by IDEM, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 15.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.6 µg/L.
Is Lake Wawasee safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake Wawasee is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pCBs. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Wawasee?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Wawasee, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 45 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Wawasee?
- Lake Wawasee has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Wawasee Boat Company.
Can I fish at Lake Wawasee?
- Lake Wawasee has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Indiana's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lake Wawasee across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where to stay at Indiana's top lakes, each with its readings
Indiana's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Mesotrophic Lakes in Indiana
Where this data comes from
13 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS13 samples · 2021
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)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory