Mckinley Lake
Union County, Iowa38 acresView mapDirections
Iowa DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Mckinley Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 36 ft max depth
Mckinley Lake in Union County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 150 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 69.3 µg/L. Surface area: 38 acres.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Mckinley Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 4 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Iowa DNR.
Mckinley Lake is a 38-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Union County, Iowa with an estimated average depth of about 36 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 5 other monitored lakes in Union County, Mckinley Lake ranks #5 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Iowa DNR, last sampled 2024-07-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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. Mckinley Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, pCBs, turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Mckinley Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Mckinley Lake
These are the measurements Iowa DNR publishes for Mckinley 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 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 150 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 69.3 µg/L. TSI 75.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 150µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 69.3µg/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. | 75 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Mckinley Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Mckinley Lake typically sits around 76°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 78°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 79°F) and coldest in Jun (about 76°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (76°F) to its warmest (79°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 11 field readings (2018–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Mckinley Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~36 ft est.
Surface area
38 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Iowa has not published bathymetry for Mckinley Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,243 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Mckinley Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Mckinley Lake in Union County, Iowa — 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 Mckinley Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Mckinley Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Mckinley Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-15.89 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-5.66 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Mckinley Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Mc Kinley Lake Dam (completed 1920), built primarily for recreation on the TR-WEST PLATTE RIVER; earth-type dam, 19 ft tall and 780 ft long.
- Surface area
- 38 ac
- Normal storage
- 200 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 290 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.46 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- City of Creston
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID IA01376 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Mckinley 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: Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IA 05-PLA-1470 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
2 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Mckinley Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits, including 1 classified by the EPA as major discharger. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Creston City Of StpCreston · 0.4 mi away · NPDES IA0035238MajorRecent violation
- Wdc Acquisition, Llc Dba WellmanCreston · 2.4 mi away · NPDES IA0077313
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 Union County
Frequently asked questions about Mckinley Lake
Where is Mckinley Lake?
- Mckinley Lake is a lake in Union County, Iowa. Its water-quality measurements are published by Iowa DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Mckinley Lake?
- Mckinley Lake in Union County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 150 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 69.3 µg/L. Surface area: 38 acres.
Is Mckinley Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Mckinley Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, pCBs, turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Mckinley Lake?
- Mckinley Lake typically sits around 76°F at the surface in September, from 11 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2018–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Mckinley Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Mckinley Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 36 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 38 acres.
Explore Mckinley Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
52 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Iowa DNR Surface Water Monitoring Data
21IOWA_WQX52 samples · 2020–2024
Analytical methods
- Unknown
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- In-Vitro Determination of Chlorophyll
- ISU modification of APHA 2130-B
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)