Rio Blanco Lake
Rio Blanco County, Colorado149 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Rio Blanco Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Metals (other than mercury)
- 15 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Ask about Rio Blanco Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Rio Blanco Lake in Rio Blanco County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 12 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.4 µg/L. Surface area: 149 acres.
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Rio Blanco Lake is a 149-acre lake in Rio Blanco County, Colorado with an estimated average depth of about 15 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2021-09-21. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Rio Blanco 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. Rio Blanco Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Rio Blanco Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Rio Blanco Lake
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Rio Blanco Lake, 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 12 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.4 µg/L. TSI 40.
| Metric | Value | EPA condition class |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | No recent samples | |
| Phosphorus | 12 µg/L | Measured, not scored |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.4 µg/L | Measured, not scored |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 40 | Oligotrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~15 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~9 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 149 acres |
| Public Access | Yes |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Colorado has not published bathymetry for Rio Blanco 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
- Piceance State Wildlife AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Fishing Rio Blanco Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Rio Blanco Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Johnnie Johnson (completed 1970), built primarily for recreation on the White River-Tr; earth-type dam, 28 ft tall and 4,855 ft long.
- Surface area
- 149 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,036 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,781 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE
All listed purposes: Recreation;Fish and Wildlife Pond.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO00964 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Rio Blanco Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit COLCWH11_B · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Rio Blanco County
Frequently asked questions about Rio Blanco Lake
Where is Rio Blanco Lake?
- Rio Blanco Lake is a lake in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Rio Blanco Lake?
- Rio Blanco Lake in Rio Blanco County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 12 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.4 µg/L. Surface area: 149 acres.
Is Rio Blanco Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Rio Blanco Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Rio Blanco Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Rio Blanco Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 15 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 149 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Rio Blanco Lake?
- Rio Blanco Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Piceance State Wildlife Area. Public access is listed as yes.
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Where this data comes from
3 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment-WQCD
21COL001_WQX3 samples · 2021
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Nitrogen in Water by Pyrolysis Detection
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