Metropolis Lake
McCracken County, KentuckyView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Metropolis Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nuisance exotic species
- 46 ft max depth
- Limited data
Metropolis Lake in McCracken County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 174 µg/L.
Metropolis Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in McCracken County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 46 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2021-09-07. 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. Metropolis Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nuisance exotic species, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Metropolis 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 Metropolis Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Metropolis 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 174 µg/L. TSI 79.
| 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 | 174µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 79 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
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Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~46 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Metropolis Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
0 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
35 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
331 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 Metropolis Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Metropolis Lake in McCracken County, Kentucky — 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 Metropolis Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Metropolis Lake
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Fishing Metropolis Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Metropolis 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, Recreation, Other.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KY-1274 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in McCracken County
Frequently asked questions about Metropolis Lake
Where is Metropolis Lake?
- Metropolis Lake is a lake in McCracken County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Metropolis Lake?
- Metropolis Lake in McCracken County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 174 µg/L.
Is Metropolis Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Metropolis Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nuisance exotic species, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Metropolis Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Metropolis Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 46 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
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Where this data comes from
14 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2015–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX14 samples · 2015–2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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)