Pierce Creek Lake
Page County, Iowa38 acresView mapDirections
Iowa DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Pierce Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 27 ft max depth
Pierce Creek Lake in Page County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 170.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 39.1 µg/L. Surface area: 38 acres.
Free interactive depth-contour map of Pierce Creek Lake, reaching a maximum surveyed depth of 9 ft. Toggle Depth contours to overlay the bathymetric survey lines. Contour data from Iowa DNR.
Pierce Creek Lake is a 38-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Page County, Iowa with an estimated average depth of about 27 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Iowa DNR, last sampled 2024-10-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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. Pierce Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for algal growth, turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Pierce Creek Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Pierce Creek Lake
These are the measurements Iowa DNR publishes for Pierce Creek Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.2 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 170.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 39.1 µg/L. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 171µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 39.1µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 70 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Pierce Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Pierce Creek Lake typically sits around 72°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 80°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 83°F) and coldest in Sep (about 72°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (72°F) to its warmest (83°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 26 field readings (2010–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Pierce Creek Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~27 ft est.
Surface area
38 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Iowa has not published bathymetry for Pierce Creek Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
4 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,024 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 Pierce Creek Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Pierce Creek Lake in Page County, Iowa — 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Pierce Creek Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Pierce Creek Lake
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Fishing Pierce Creek Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2021–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Improving-53.25 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+3.02 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Pierce Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Pierce Creek No 1 Watershed Site 10 (completed 1969), built primarily for fire protection, stock, or small fish pond on the TR-EAST NISHNABOTNA RIVER; earth-type dam, 42 ft tall and 963 ft long.
- Surface area
- 38 ac
- Normal storage
- 332 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,242 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 4.53 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- Page County Conservation Board
All listed purposes: Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond;Recreation;Flood Risk Reduction.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID IA00841 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.08 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Pierce Creek Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IA 05-NSH-1416 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
3 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Pierce Creek Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits, including 1 classified by the EPA as major discharger. 2 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Shenandoah City Of StpShenandoah · 4.9 mi away · NPDES IA0032328MajorRecent violation
- Essex City Of StpEssex · 2.5 mi away · NPDES IA0026603Recent violation
- Shenandoah, City Of WtpShenandoah · 4.3 mi away · NPDES IA0079081
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 Page County
Frequently asked questions about Pierce Creek Lake
Where is Pierce Creek Lake?
- Pierce Creek Lake is a lake in Page County, Iowa. Its water-quality measurements are published by Iowa DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Pierce Creek Lake?
- Pierce Creek Lake in Page County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 170.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 39.1 µg/L. Surface area: 38 acres.
Is Pierce Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Pierce Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for algal growth, turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Pierce Creek Lake?
- Pierce Creek Lake typically sits around 72°F at the surface in September, from 26 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Pierce Creek Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Pierce Creek Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 27 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 38 acres.
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Where this data comes from
49 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Iowa DNR Surface Water Monitoring Data
21IOWA_WQX49 samples · 2021–2024
Analytical methods
- Unknown
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- In-Vitro Determination of Chlorophyll
- ISU modification of APHA 2130-B
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)