New Yates Center Lake
Woodson County, Kansas212 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for New Yates Center Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 34 ft max depth
- Limited data
New Yates Center Lake in Woodson County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.1 µg/L. Surface area: 211.7 acres.
New Yates Center Lake is a 212-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Woodson County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 34 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Woodson County, New Yates Center Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2018-06-04. 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. New Yates Center Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether New Yates Center Lake 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 New Yates Center Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for New Yates Center Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 5.2 ft. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 13.1 µg/L. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 20µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 13.1µg/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. | 52 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about New Yates Center Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~34 ft est.
Surface area
212 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 New Yates Center Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
6 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,017 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 New Yates Center Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near New Yates Center Lake in Woodson County, Kansas — 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 New Yates Center Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near New Yates Center Lake
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Fishing New Yates Center Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2013–2018). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+2.2 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+4.06 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
New Yates Center Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Yates Center Reservoir Dam (Multi-Purpose Dam) (completed 1990), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Big Sandy Creek-Tr; earth-type dam, 47 ft tall and 840 ft long.
- Surface area
- 211.7 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,720.1 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,777.5 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 4.44 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- YATES CENTER, CITY OF
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS07550 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.13 km)
EPA Impairment Status
New Yates Center 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: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM053801 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Woodson County
Frequently asked questions about New Yates Center Lake
Where is New Yates Center Lake?
- New Yates Center Lake is a lake in Woodson County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of New Yates Center Lake?
- New Yates Center Lake in Woodson County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13.1 µg/L. Surface area: 211.7 acres.
Is New Yates Center Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. New Yates Center 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 New Yates Center Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers New Yates Center Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 34 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 211.7 acres.
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX8 samples · 2013–2018
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)