Pheasant Lake
Dickey County, North Dakota234 acresView mapDirections
ND DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Pheasant Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 55 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Pheasant Lake in Dickey County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.5 µg/L. Surface area: 234 acres.
Pheasant Lake is a 234-acre lake in Dickey County, North Dakota with an estimated average depth of about 55 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDDEQ, last sampled 2021-10-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Pheasant Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Pheasant Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Pheasant Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Pheasant Lake
These are the measurements ND DEQ publishes for Pheasant 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 3.6 ft. Chlorophyll-a 3.5 µg/L. TSI 51.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.5µg/L | Measured, not scored The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 51 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Pheasant Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Pheasant Lake typically sits around 56°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 63°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 63°F) and coldest in May (about 48°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (48°F) to its warmest (63°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 12 field readings (2021–2021) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Pheasant Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~55 ft est.
Surface area
234 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by ND DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Dakota has not published bathymetry for Pheasant Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
103 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,483 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
- Pheasant LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Pheasant Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Pheasant Lake
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Fishing Pheasant Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Pheasant Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Pheasant Lake Dam (completed 1963), built primarily for water supply on the Elm River; earth-type dam, 43 ft tall and 1,400 ft long.
- Surface area
- 234 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,503 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,808 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 96 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- Dickey County WRB
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID ND00032 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Pheasant Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit ND-10160004-005-L_00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Dickey County
Frequently asked questions about Pheasant Lake
Where is Pheasant Lake?
- Pheasant Lake is a lake in Dickey County, North Dakota. Its water-quality measurements are published by ND DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Pheasant Lake?
- Pheasant Lake in Dickey County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.5 µg/L. Surface area: 234 acres.
Is Pheasant Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Pheasant Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Pheasant Lake?
- Pheasant Lake typically sits around 56°F at the surface in October, from 12 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2021–2021). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Pheasant Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Pheasant Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 55 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 234 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Pheasant Lake?
- Pheasant Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Pheasant Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Pheasant Lake?
- Pheasant Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Dakota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Pheasant Lake across LakeQuality
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Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Dakota Department Of Environmental Quality
21NDHDWQ_WQX8 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
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)
Depth, fish, and access data from North Dakota Game & Fish
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory