Norton Lake
Norton County, Kansas6,551 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Norton Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 61 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Norton Lake in Norton County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 150 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 44 µg/L. Surface area: 6551 acres.
Norton Lake is a 6,551-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Norton County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 61 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, KDHE, last sampled 2016-08-15. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Norton Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
- Big water6,551 acres
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. Norton Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Norton 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 Norton Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Norton 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 2 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 150 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 44 µg/L. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2ft | 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) | 44µg/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. | 70 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Norton Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~61 ft est.
Surface area
6,551 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Norton Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
696 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
15.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,306 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
- Keith Sebelius-East LeotaPublic
- Keith Sebelius-West LeotaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Norton Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Norton Lake in Norton 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 Norton Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Norton Lake
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Fishing Norton Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2014–2016). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+15 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+8.75 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Norton Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Norton Dam (completed 1964), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Prairie Dog Creek; earth-type dam, 131 ft tall and 6,450 ft long.
- Surface area
- 6,551 ac
- Normal storage
- 35,935 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 192,027 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 683 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Irrigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00024 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Norton Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM010001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Norton County
Frequently asked questions about Norton Lake
Where is Norton Lake?
- Norton Lake is a lake in Norton County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Norton Lake?
- Norton Lake in Norton County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 150 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 44 µg/L. Surface area: 6551 acres.
Is Norton Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Norton Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Norton Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Norton Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 61 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 6551 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Norton Lake?
- Norton Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Keith Sebelius-East Leota, Keith Sebelius-West Leota. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Norton Lake?
- Norton 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 Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Norton Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX11 samples · 2014–2016
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory