Perry Lake
Jefferson County, Kansas12,200 acresView mapDirections
Nutrients and algae run well above the regional average.
↓ down from D at the last regrade
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- #3 of 3 in the county
- 79 ft max depth
- Public access
Perry Lake in Jefferson County, Kansas has a water quality grade of F (Algae-prone). Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 77 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 37.3 µg/L. Surface area: 12200 acres.
- Clarity
- 3.1 ft
- Max depth
- ~79 ft est.
- Area
- 12,200 acres
- Type
- Hypereutrophic
- Phosphorus
- 77 µg/L
- Chlorophyll-a
- 37.3 µg/L
- Public access
- Yes
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Stays near Perry Lake
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Watch Perry Lake’s letter
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Perry Lake is a 12,200-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Jefferson County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 79 feet. Water quality is graded F based on 1 sampling years through 2022. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 14 public boat landings. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Jefferson County, Perry Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2022-08-01. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Perry Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch14 documented ramps
- Big water12,200 acres
Swimming Safety
Grade onlyAlgae risk
Based on clarity and algae grades from past sampling — we do not hold live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
The F is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Perry Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Water Quality Grade: F (Algae-prone)
Very murky, less than 3.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 77 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 37.3 µg/L. TSI 65. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 3.1 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | 77 µg/L | Not graded |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 37.3 µg/L | Poor |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 65 | Hypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Sep 7, 2026, 3:30 PM from gauge 06890898 (PERRY LK NR PERRY, KS). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
→ Perry Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~79 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~77 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 12,200 acres |
| Public Access | Yes |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Perry Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
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
- Perry-SouthPublic
- SerenityPublic
- Pelican PointPublic
- Rock CreekPublic
- Slough Creek BridgePublic
- Devils GapPublic
Showing 6 of 14 documented landings from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory.
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Fishing Perry Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Perry Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Perry Dam (completed 1966), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Delaware River; earth-type dam, 121 ft tall and 1,740 ft long.
- Surface area
- 12,200 ac
- Normal storage
- 0 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 770,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1,117 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Kansas City District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Navigation;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00009 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Perry Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM029001 · Official waterbody report
County Ranking
Ranked #3 of 3 lakes in Jefferson County
Nearby Lakes in Jefferson County
Frequently asked questions about Perry Lake
Where is Perry Lake?
- Perry Lake is a lake in Jefferson County, Kansas. LakeQuality grades it F for nutrients and algae. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
What is the water quality grade for Perry Lake?
- Perry Lake in Jefferson County, Kansas has a water quality grade of F (Algae-prone). Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 77 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 37.3 µg/L. Surface area: 12200 acres.
Is Perry Lake safe to swim in?
- The F is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Perry Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Perry Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Perry Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 79 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 12200 acres.
What is the water level at Perry Lake?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for Perry Lake is 893.62 ft of water-surface elevation, recorded Sep 7, 2026, 3:30 PM at gauge 06890898. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
Are there boat ramps on Perry Lake?
- Perry Lake has 14 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Perry-South, Serenity, Pelican Point, Rock Creek, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Explore Perry Lake across LakeQuality
More Kansas Lake Rankings
Other Grade F Lakes in Kansas
Hypereutrophic Lakes in Kansas
Where this data comes from
44 measurements from 9 monitoring stations, 2012–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS Kansas Water Science Center
USGS-KS30 samples · 2020–2022 - Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX14 samples · 2012–2018
Analytical methods
- Plant pigments, sonication & 445
- YSI EXO turbidity sensor, FNU
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (9)
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory