Lovewell Lake
Jewell County, Kansas7,635 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Lovewell Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 80 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lovewell Lake in Jewell County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 270 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 49.5 µg/L. Surface area: 7635 acres.
Lovewell Lake is a 7,635-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Jewell County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 80 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2016-08-23. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Lovewell Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 documented ramps
- Big water7,635 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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. Lovewell Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lovewell Lake 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 Lovewell Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Lovewell Lake, 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 1.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 270 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 49.5 µg/L. TSI 76.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 270µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 49.5µg/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. | 76 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Lovewell Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~80 ft est.
Surface area
7,635 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Lovewell Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
339 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
13.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,575 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
- Lovewell-MarinaPublic
- Lovewell-Cedar PointPublic
- Lovewell-Oak PointPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lovewell Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lovewell Lake in Jewell County, Kansas — 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 Lovewell Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lovewell Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Lovewell Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2014–2016). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Improving-40 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lovewell Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lovewell Dam (completed 1957), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the White Rock Creek; earth-type dam, 93 ft tall and 8,500 ft long.
- Surface area
- 7,635 ac
- Normal storage
- 41,690 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 180,276 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 345.22 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Irrigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00023 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lovewell Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM015001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Jewell County
Frequently asked questions about Lovewell Lake
Where is Lovewell Lake?
- Lovewell Lake is a lake in Jewell County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lovewell Lake?
- Lovewell Lake in Jewell County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 270 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 49.5 µg/L. Surface area: 7635 acres.
Is Lovewell Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lovewell Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lovewell Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lovewell Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 80 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 7635 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lovewell Lake?
- Lovewell Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lovewell-Marina, Lovewell-Cedar Point, Lovewell-Oak Point. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lovewell Lake?
- Lovewell Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Lovewell Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX11 samples · 2014–2016
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory