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LakeQuality

Perry City Lake

Ralls County, Missouri16 acresView mapDirections

NR
Not rated

Not enough samples to grade — no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years). No letter yet. Here is what we do have.

Water temp
~79°F
Typical for Aug · EPA WQP
Clarity
No reading
No sample
Max depth
~35 ft est.
GLOBathy model
Level
No reading
No gauge
Trend
No reading
Not enough history
  • Impaired · Algal growth
  • 35 ft max depth
  • Public access
  • Limited data

Perry City Lake in Ralls County, Missouri is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Phosphorus: 240 µg/L. Surface area: 16 acres.

Typical in August
79°F
Max depth
~35 ft est.
Area
16 acres
Phosphorus
240 µg/L
Public access
Yes
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Watch Perry City Lake’s letter

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Why Perry City Lake has no grade

We grade a lake only when the monitoring record supports a letter: at least three phosphorus or chlorophyll-a samples in the last ten years, scored against EPA National Lakes Assessment thresholds for this lake’s ecoregion. For Perry City Lake, no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years). Sampling here has recorded phosphorus, but not water clarity and algae (chlorophyll-a).

Not Rated is not an F. It is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. The water here may be excellent or poor; nobody has measured enough of it to say. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.

Sampling is run by Missouri DNR and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.

Perry City Lake is a 16-acre lake in Ralls County, Missouri with an estimated average depth of about 35 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Missouri DNR, last sampled 2025-07-28. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.

Swimming Safety

Not rated

Limited data

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Perry City Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.

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Water quality measurements for Perry City Lake

These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.

No clarity data. Phosphorus 240 µg/L. TSI 83.

MetricValueGrade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)No recent samples
Phosphorus240 µg/LNot graded
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No recent samples
Trophic State Index (TSI)83Hypereutrophic

Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity

Water Temperature

Perry City Lake typically sits around 79°F at the surface in August. Summer average is about 83°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 87°F) and coldest in May (about 76°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
76°
Jun
82°
Jul
87°
Aug
79°
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Typical surface water temperature by month, from 20 field readings (20132024) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Perry City Lake water temperature breakdown →

Lake Details

CharacteristicValue
Maximum Depth~35 ft est.
Average Depth~9 ft est.
Surface Area16 acres
Public AccessYes

Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Missouri has not published bathymetry for Perry City Lake.

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area
3 sq mi
Shoreline
1 mi
Elevation
686 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.

Fishing Perry City Lake

Reservoir Info (USACE NID)

Perry City Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Perry City Dam - Lower (completed 1964), built primarily for water supply on the MACE BRANCH LICK CREEK; earth-type dam, 26 ft tall.

Surface area
16 ac
Normal storage
61 ac-ft
Max storage
223 ac-ft
Drainage area
1,583 sq mi
Hazard class
High
Owner
CITY OF PERRY

Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MO10675 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.11 km)

EPA Impairment Status

Perry City Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Algal growth

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MO_7047.00 · Official waterbody report

Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby

3 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Perry City Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 2 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.

  • Perry Wwtf
    Perry · 0.9 mi away · NPDES MO0111821
    Recent violation
  • Land 4 Boats Wwtf
    Perry · 2.2 mi away · NPDES MO0123846
    Recent violation
  • Riedel Energy Inc
    Perry · 2.3 mi away · NPDES MO0099848

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.

Graded lakes near Perry City Lake

Perry City Lake has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.

Nearby Lakes in Ralls County

Frequently asked questions about Perry City Lake

Where is Perry City Lake?

Perry City Lake is a lake in Ralls County, Missouri. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years).

What is the water quality grade for Perry City Lake?

Perry City Lake in Ralls County, Missouri is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Phosphorus: 240 µg/L. Surface area: 16 acres.

Is Perry City Lake safe to swim in?

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Perry City 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 Perry City Lake?

Perry City Lake typically sits around 79°F at the surface in August, from 20 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2013–2024). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.

How deep is Perry City Lake?

No published bathymetric survey covers Perry City Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 35 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 16 acres.

Where this data comes from

1 measurement from 1 monitoring station, 2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Missouri Dept. of Natural ResourcesMDNR1 sample · 2025

Analytical methods

  • Nitrogen and Phosphorus, Total, Whole-water, Alkaline Persulfate Digest
Monitoring station identifiers (1)

Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated 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)