Marion County Sportsmans Lake
Marion County, Kentucky32 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Marion County Sportsmans Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 53 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Marion County Sportsmans Lake in Marion County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 22 µg/L. Surface area: 31.6 acres.
Marion County Sportsmans Lake is a 32-acre lake in Marion County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 53 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2014-08-21. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Marion County Sportsmans Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Marion County Sportsmans Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Marion County Sportsmans Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Marion County Sportsmans Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 22 µg/L. TSI 49.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 22µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 49 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Marion County Sportsmans Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~53 ft est.
Surface area
32 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Kentucky DOW
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Marion County Sportsmans Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
0 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
686 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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Fishing Marion County Sportsmans Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Marion County Sportsmans Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Marion County Sportsmans Dam (completed 1953), built primarily for recreation on the Rolling Fork; earth-type dam, 40 ft tall and 300 ft long.
- Surface area
- 31.6 ac
- Normal storage
- 465 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 585 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0.23 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY00020 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Marion County Sportsmans Lake 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 KY-40 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Marion County
Frequently asked questions about Marion County Sportsmans Lake
Where is Marion County Sportsmans Lake?
- Marion County Sportsmans Lake is a lake in Marion County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Marion County Sportsmans Lake?
- Marion County Sportsmans Lake in Marion County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 22 µg/L. Surface area: 31.6 acres.
Is Marion County Sportsmans Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Marion County Sportsmans Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Marion County Sportsmans Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Marion County Sportsmans Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 53 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 31.6 acres.
Can I fish at Marion County Sportsmans Lake?
- Public access to Marion County Sportsmans Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kentucky's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
4 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX4 samples · 2014
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
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)