Sand Lake
Marshall County, IowaView mapDirections
Iowa DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Sand Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 36 ft max depth
Sand Lake in Marshall County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.6 µg/L.
Sand Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Marshall County, Iowa with an estimated average depth of about 36 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Marshall County, Sand Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Iowa DNR, last sampled 2024-09-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Sand Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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 Sand 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 Sand Lake
These are the measurements Iowa DNR publishes for Sand 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 6.4 ft. Phosphorus 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3.6 µg/L. TSI 48.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 6.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 25µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.6µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 48 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Sand Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~36 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Iowa has not published bathymetry for Sand Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1,627 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
133 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
853 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 Sand Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Sand Lake
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Fishing Sand Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2023–2024). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+20.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+6.8 µg/L/yr2 years
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
10 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Sand 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.
- Marshalltown City Of Water Pollution ControlMarshalltown · 2 mi away · NPDES IA0038610MajorRecent violation
- Bruin Manufacturing Co., Inc.Marshalltown · 2.1 mi away · NPDES IA0081434Recent violation
- Ipl - Sutherland StationMarshalltown · 0.8 mi away · NPDES IA0000108
- Ipl - Precision Pipeline, LlcCedar Rapids · 1.5 mi away · NPDES IA0052365
- Marshalltown, City Of MS4Marshalltown · 2 mi away · NPDES IA0080039
- Fisher Controls International Llc (Main Office)Marshalltown · 2.1 mi away · NPDES IA0000230
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 Marshall County
Frequently asked questions about Sand Lake
Where is Sand Lake?
- Sand Lake is a lake in Marshall County, Iowa. Its water-quality measurements are published by Iowa DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Sand Lake?
- Sand Lake in Marshall County, Iowa has water-quality measurements published by Iowa DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 25 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.6 µg/L.
Is Sand Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Sand Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Sand Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 36 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Sand Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
36 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Iowa DNR Surface Water Monitoring Data
21IOWA_WQX36 samples · 2023–2024
Analytical methods
- Unknown
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)