Rawlins Reservoir
Carbon County, Wyoming31 acresView mapDirections
Wyoming DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Rawlins Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 13 ft max depth
- Limited data
Rawlins Reservoir in Carbon County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Surface area: 31 acres.
Rawlins Reservoir is a 31-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Carbon County, Wyoming with an estimated average depth of about 13 feet. Compared to the 9 other monitored lakes in Carbon County, Rawlins Reservoir ranks #10 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Wyoming DEQ, last sampled 2017-09-18. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Rawlins Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Rawlins Reservoir
These are the measurements Wyoming DEQ publishes for Rawlins Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 60 µg/L. TSI 63.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 60µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading 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. | 63 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Rawlins Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~13 ft est.
Surface area
31 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Wyoming has not published bathymetry for Rawlins Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
12 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
7,605 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.
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Stays near Rawlins Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Rawlins Reservoir in Carbon County, Wyoming — 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 Rawlins Reservoir are listed below.
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Fishing Rawlins Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Rawlins Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Rawlins (completed 1956), built primarily for water supply on the Sage Creek; earth-type dam, 47 ft tall and 700 ft long.
- Surface area
- 31 ac
- Normal storage
- 624 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 792 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- CITY OF RAWLINS (DANNY RODRIGUEZ)
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID WY00379 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Carbon County
Frequently asked questions about Rawlins Reservoir
Where is Rawlins Reservoir?
- Rawlins Reservoir is a lake in Carbon County, Wyoming. Its water-quality measurements are published by Wyoming DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Rawlins Reservoir?
- Rawlins Reservoir in Carbon County, Wyoming has water-quality measurements published by Wyoming DEQ, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Surface area: 31 acres.
Is Rawlins Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Rawlins Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Rawlins Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 13 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 31 acres.
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Where this data comes from
3 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- State of Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Watershed Program
WYDEQ_WATERSHED3 samples · 2017
Analytical methods
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)