Peaceful Valley Lake
Gasconade County, Missouri164 acresView mapDirections
Missouri DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Peaceful Valley Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 45 ft max depth
Peaceful Valley Lake in Gasconade County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 11.2 µg/L. Surface area: 164 acres.
Peaceful Valley Lake is a 164-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Gasconade County, Missouri with an estimated average depth of about 45 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Gasconade County, Peaceful Valley Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Missouri DNR, last sampled 2024-08-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Peaceful Valley Lake covers about 160 acres in Gasconade County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Peaceful Valley Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
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. Peaceful Valley Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Peaceful Valley Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Peaceful Valley Lake
These are the measurements Missouri DNR publishes for Peaceful Valley 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 3.9 ft. Phosphorus 25.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 11.2 µg/L. TSI 54.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 25.7µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 11.2µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 54 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Peaceful Valley Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Peaceful Valley Lake typically sits around 83°F at the surface in August. Summer average is about 83°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 84°F) and coldest in Jun (about 82°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (82°F) to its warmest (84°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 16 field readings (2020–2024) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Peaceful Valley Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~45 ft est.
Surface area
164 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Missouri has not published bathymetry for Peaceful Valley Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
5 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
781 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 Peaceful Valley Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Peaceful Valley Lake in Gasconade County, Missouri — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Peaceful Valley Lake
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Missouri’s top lakes →
Follow Peaceful Valley Lake’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Peaceful Valley Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening3 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.6 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-3.57 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Peaceful Valley Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Peaceful Valley Lake Dam (completed 1965), built primarily for recreation on the TR-CEDAR BRANCH CREEK; earth-type dam, 64 ft tall and 1,100 ft long.
- Surface area
- 164 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,128 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,784 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 4.91 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- PEACEFUL VALLEY POA
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MO30196 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Peaceful Valley Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MO_7241.00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
9 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Peaceful Valley Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 2 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Pwsd NO1 Of Gasconade County WwtfOwensville · 0.2 mi away · NPDES MO0041467Recent violation
- Owensville WwtfOwensville · 4.4 mi away · NPDES MO0041068Recent violation
- Parker Hannifin Sporlan Owensville PlantOwensville · 2.6 mi away · NPDES MONX00097
- Lsc Communications Book OwensvilleOwensville · 2.6 mi away · NPDES MONX00548
- Parker Hannifin Sporlan Owensville 2Owensville · 2.8 mi away · NPDES MONX00216
- Lsc Communications Book, OwensvilleOwensville · 2.8 mi away · NPDES MONX00546
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Gasconade County
Frequently asked questions about Peaceful Valley Lake
Where is Peaceful Valley Lake?
- Peaceful Valley Lake is a lake in Gasconade County, Missouri. Its water-quality measurements are published by Missouri DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Peaceful Valley Lake?
- Peaceful Valley Lake in Gasconade County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25.7 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 11.2 µg/L. Surface area: 164 acres.
Is Peaceful Valley Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Peaceful Valley Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Peaceful Valley Lake?
- Peaceful Valley Lake typically sits around 83°F at the surface in August, from 16 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2020–2024). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Peaceful Valley Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Peaceful Valley Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 45 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 164 acres.
Explore Peaceful Valley Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Missouri
Other Lakes in Missouri
Eutrophic Lakes in Missouri
Where this data comes from
66 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
UMC63 samples · 2020–2024 - Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources
MDNR3 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk in meters
- 4500 P E ~ Phosphorus in Water by Colorimetry- Ascorbic Acid Method
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- Nitrogen and Phosphorus, Total, Whole-water, Alkaline Persulfate Digest
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)