Palisade Lake
Sanpete County, UtahView mapDirections
Utah DWQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Palisade Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Temperature
- Limited data
Palisade Lake in Sanpete County, Utah has water-quality measurements published by Utah DWQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 14.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.6 µg/L.
Palisade Lake is a cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Sanpete County, Utah. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 10 other monitored lakes in Sanpete County, Palisade Lake ranks #4 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Utah DWQ, last sampled 2020-08-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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. Palisade Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Palisade Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Utah Division of Water Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Palisade Lake
These are the measurements Utah DWQ publishes for Palisade 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 5.1 ft. Phosphorus 14.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.6 µg/L. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 14.7µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.6µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 44 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Palisade Lake
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Fishing Palisade Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2020). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.01 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Palisade Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Palisades Lake (completed 1899), built primarily for irrigation on the Sixmile Creek - Offstream; earth-type dam, 24 ft tall and 1,250 ft long.
- Normal storage
- 780 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,050 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- MANTI IRRIGATION & RESERVOIR CO., ET AL
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID UT00119 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.28 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Palisade 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 UT-L-16030004-005_00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Sanpete County
Frequently asked questions about Palisade Lake
Where is Palisade Lake?
- Palisade Lake is a lake in Sanpete County, Utah. Its water-quality measurements are published by Utah DWQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Palisade Lake?
- Palisade Lake in Sanpete County, Utah has water-quality measurements published by Utah DWQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 14.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.6 µg/L.
Is Palisade Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Palisade Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Palisade Lake across LakeQuality
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Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Utah Department Of Environmental Quality
UTAHDWQ_WQX11 samples · 2020
Analytical methods
- Field Measurements
- 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