Pomona Lake
Osage County, Kansas4,000 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Pomona Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 51 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Pomona Lake in Osage County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 67 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 31.5 µg/L. Surface area: 4000 acres.
Pomona Lake is a 4,000-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Osage County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 51 feet. Water clarity is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 7 public boat landings. Compared to the 4 other monitored lakes in Osage County, Pomona Lake ranks #5 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2017-08-02. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Pomona Lake covers about 4,000 acres in Osage County. It has 7 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Pomona Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Pomona Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch7 documented ramps
- Camping3 public campgrounds nearby
- Big water4,000 acres
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. Pomona Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Pomona Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Pomona Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Pomona 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 2.9 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 67 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 31.5 µg/L. TSI 64.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 67µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 31.5µg/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. | 64 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Pomona Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Pomona Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~51 ft est.
Surface area
4,000 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Pomona Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
324 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
25.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
971 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
- Pomona Lake MarinaPublic
- Pomona Lake-Red OakPublic
- Pomona Lake-Cedar WindPublic
- Pomona Lake-E 229th StreetPublic
- Dam SitePublic
- Addams GrovePublic
Showing 6 of 7 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
Public campgrounds near Pomona Lake
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Pomona Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Pomona Lake in Osage County, Kansas — 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 Pomona Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Pomona Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 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 trip? Cabins and lodging at Pomona Lake → · more Kansas lake trips
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Fishing Pomona Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2014–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Improving-5.67 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Pomona Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Pomona Dam (completed 1963), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Hundred Ten Mile Creek; rockfill-type dam, 111 ft tall and 7,750 ft long.
- Surface area
- 4,000 ac
- Normal storage
- 70,600 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 254,600 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 322 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Kansas City District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00010 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Pomona 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: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM028001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Osage County
Frequently asked questions about Pomona Lake
Where is Pomona Lake?
- Pomona Lake is a lake in Osage County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Pomona Lake?
- Pomona Lake in Osage County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 67 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 31.5 µg/L. Surface area: 4000 acres.
Is Pomona Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Pomona Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Pomona Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Pomona Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 51 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 4000 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Pomona Lake?
- Pomona Lake has 7 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Pomona Lake Marina, Pomona Lake-Red Oak, Pomona Lake-Cedar Wind, Pomona Lake-E 229th Street, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Pomona Lake?
- Pomona Lake has 7 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Pomona Lake?
- Pomona Lake has 3 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Outlet (pomona Lake), Michigan Valley, Wolf Creek (ks). This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Pomona Lake across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Kansas's top lakes, each with its readings
Kansas's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
More lakes in Kansas
Other Lakes in Kansas
Hypereutrophic Lakes in Kansas
Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX11 samples · 2014–2017
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles