Moline Reservoir
Elk County, Kansas185 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Moline Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 38 ft max depth
- Limited data
Moline Reservoir in Elk County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 39.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17 µg/L. Surface area: 185 acres.
Moline Reservoir is a 185-acre lake in Elk County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 38 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2017-06-26. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Moline Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Moline Reservoir 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 Moline Reservoir
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Moline Reservoir, 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 1.7 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 39.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 17 µg/L. TSI 62.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 39.5µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 17µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 62 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Moline Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~38 ft est.
Surface area
185 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Moline Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,083 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 Moline Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Moline Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Mpd No 21 (completed 1983), built primarily for water supply on the Wildcat Creek; earth-type dam, 42 ft tall and 3,400 ft long.
- Surface area
- 185 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,500 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 7,265 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 7.41 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- MOLINE, CITY OF
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS05314 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.11 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Moline Reservoir 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: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM071901 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Elk County
Frequently asked questions about Moline Reservoir
Where is Moline Reservoir?
- Moline Reservoir is a lake in Elk County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Moline Reservoir?
- Moline Reservoir in Elk County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 39.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17 µg/L. Surface area: 185 acres.
Is Moline Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Moline Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Moline Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Moline Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 38 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 185 acres.
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Where this data comes from
5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX5 samples · 2017
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)