Lee Creek Lake
Crawford County, Arkansas634 acresView mapDirections
Nutrients and algae run above the regional average.
↓ down from C at the last regrade
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · pH / acidity
- #2 of 2 in the county
- 26 ft max depth
Lee Creek Lake in Crawford County, Arkansas has a water quality grade of D (Nutrient-rich). Phosphorus: 29.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10 µg/L. Surface area: 634 acres.
- Max depth
- ~26 ft est.
- Area
- 634 acres
- Type
- Eutrophic
- Phosphorus
- 29.5 µg/L
- Chlorophyll-a
- 10 µg/L
- Trend
- ↓ Declining
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Stays near Lee Creek Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lee Creek Lake in Crawford County, Arkansas — 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 grade measures nutrients and algae, not lodging — cabins and rentals around Lee Creek Lake are listed below.
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Watch Lee Creek Lake’s letter
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Lee Creek Lake is a 634-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Crawford County, Arkansas with an estimated average depth of about 26 feet. Water quality is graded D based on 3 sampling years through 2023. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Crawford County, Lee Creek Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ADEQ, last sampled 2023-02-08. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
Swimming Safety
Grade onlyElevated nutrients
Based on clarity and algae grades from past sampling — we do not hold live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
The D is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Lee Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Water Quality Grade: D (Nutrient-rich)
No clarity data. Phosphorus 29.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 10 µg/L. TSI 53. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | No recent samples | |
| Phosphorus | 29.5 µg/L | Fair |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 10 µg/L | Fair |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 53 | Eutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Sep 7, 2026, 3:45 PM from gauge 07250085 (Lee Creek at Lee Creek Reservoir near Van Buren,AR). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
→ Lee Creek Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~26 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 634 acres |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Arkansas has not published bathymetry for Lee Creek Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
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.
Fishing Lee Creek Lake
Water Quality Trend: ↓ Declining
Based on 7 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).
| Metric | Trend | Change/Year | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phosphorus | ↓ Declining | +0.77 µg/L/yr | 7 |
| Chlorophyll-a | ↓ Declining | +2.05 µg/L/yr | 7 |
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lee Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lee Creek (completed 1992), built primarily for water supply on the Lee Creek, Arkansas River; gravity-type dam, 48 ft tall and 1,372 ft long.
- Surface area
- 634 ac
- Normal storage
- 7,118 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 43,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 436 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- City of Fort Smith
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation;Hydroelectric.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID AR01492 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lee Creek Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit AR_11110104_4020 · Official waterbody report
County Ranking
Ranked #2 of 2 lakes in Crawford County
Nearby Lakes in Crawford County
Frequently asked questions about Lee Creek Lake
Where is Lee Creek Lake?
- Lee Creek Lake is a lake in Crawford County, Arkansas. LakeQuality grades it D for nutrients and algae. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
What is the water quality grade for Lee Creek Lake?
- Lee Creek Lake in Crawford County, Arkansas has a water quality grade of D (Nutrient-rich). Phosphorus: 29.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10 µg/L. Surface area: 634 acres.
Is Lee Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- The D is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Lee Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lee Creek Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lee Creek Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 26 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 634 acres.
What is the water level at Lee Creek Lake?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for Lee Creek Lake is 15.99 ft of gage height, recorded Sep 7, 2026, 3:45 PM at gauge 07250085. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
Explore Lee Creek Lake across LakeQuality
More Arkansas Lake Rankings
Other Grade D Lakes in Arkansas
Eutrophic Lakes in Arkansas
Where this data comes from
76 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
ARDEQH2O_WQX76 samples · 2012–2023
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
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)