Mill Creek Lake
Monroe County, Kentucky109 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Mill Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 27 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Mill Creek Lake in Monroe County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 45 µg/L. Surface area: 109.1 acres.
Mill Creek Lake is a 109-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Monroe County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 27 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2019-09-18. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Mill Creek Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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. Mill Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Mill Creek 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 Mill Creek Lake
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Mill Creek 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 45 µg/L. TSI 59.
| 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 | 45µg/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. | 59 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Mill Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~27 ft est.
Surface area
109 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 Mill Creek Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
814 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
- Mill Creek LakePublic
- Mill Creek Lake #2Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Mill Creek Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Mill Creek Lake in Monroe 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 Mill Creek Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Mill Creek Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Mill Creek Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2016–2019). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+12.7 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Mill Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Mill Creek Mps 4 (completed 1972), built primarily for recreation on the Barren River; earth-type dam, 63 ft tall and 1,330 ft long.
- Surface area
- 109.1 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,705 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,504 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 7.26 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF TOMPKINSVILLE
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY00298 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.43 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Mill Creek 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-1306 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Monroe County
Frequently asked questions about Mill Creek Lake
Where is Mill Creek Lake?
- Mill Creek Lake is a lake in Monroe County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Mill Creek Lake?
- Mill Creek Lake in Monroe County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 45 µg/L. Surface area: 109.1 acres.
Is Mill Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Mill Creek 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 Mill Creek Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Mill Creek Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 27 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 109.1 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Mill Creek Lake?
- Mill Creek Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Mill Creek Lake, Mill Creek Lake #2. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Mill Creek Lake?
- Mill Creek Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. 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.
Explore Mill Creek Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
15 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2016–2019. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX15 samples · 2016–2019
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory