Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake
Guadalupe County, New Mexico16,670 acresView mapDirections
Clarity, phosphorus, and algae all sit in the cleanest band for this region.
↑ up from B at the last regrade
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- #1 of 1 in the county
- 90 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake in Guadalupe County, New Mexico has a water quality grade of A (Excellent). Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.3 µg/L. Surface area: 16670 acres.
- Clarity
- 1.6 ft
- Max depth
- ~90 ft est.
- Area
- 16,670 acres
- Type
- Mesotrophic
- Chlorophyll-a
- 4.3 µg/L
- Trend
- ↓ Declining
- Public access
- Yes
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Watch Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake’s letter
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Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake is a 16,670-acre mesotrophic lake in Guadalupe County, New Mexico with an estimated average depth of about 90 feet. Water quality is graded A based on 1 sampling years through 2020. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NMED, last sampled 2020-08-12. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water16,670 acres
Swimming Safety
Grade onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae grades from past sampling — we do not hold live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
The A is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Water Quality Grade: A (Excellent)
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility. Chlorophyll-a 4.3 µg/L. TSI 57. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 1.6 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.3 µg/L | Good |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 57 | Mesotrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Sep 7, 2026, 3:30 PM from gauge 08382810 (SANTA ROSA LAKE NR SANTA ROSA, N.M.). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
→ Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~90 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 16,670 acres |
| Public Access | Yes |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New Mexico has not published bathymetry for Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy 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
- Santa Rosa State ParkPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Fishing Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake
Water Quality Trend: ↓ Declining
Based on 2 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).
| Metric | Trend | Change/Year | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | ↓ Declining | -1.62 m/yr | 2 |
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Santa Rosa Dam (completed 1979), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Pecos River; rockfill-type dam, 214 ft tall and 1,900 ft long.
- Surface area
- 16,670 ac
- Normal storage
- 200,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 717,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2,434 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Albuquerque District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other;Irrigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NM00158 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.16 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NM-2211.B_00 · Official waterbody report · Matched by proximity (2.79 km)
County Ranking
Ranked #1 of 1 lakes in Guadalupe County
Nearby Lakes in Guadalupe County
Frequently asked questions about Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake
Where is Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake?
- Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake is a lake in Guadalupe County, New Mexico. LakeQuality grades it A for nutrients and algae. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
What is the water quality grade for Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake?
- Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake in Guadalupe County, New Mexico has a water quality grade of A (Excellent). Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.3 µg/L. Surface area: 16670 acres.
Is Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake safe to swim in?
- The A is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 90 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 16670 acres.
What is the water level at Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake is -5.28 ft of gage height, recorded Sep 7, 2026, 3:30 PM at gauge 08382810. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
Are there boat ramps on Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake?
- Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Santa Rosa State Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Explore Santa Rosa L Dp Sta Midchannel Buoy Lake across LakeQuality
More New Mexico Lake Rankings
Other Grade A Lakes in New Mexico
Mesotrophic Lakes in New Mexico
Where this data comes from
7 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2019–2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- NM Environmental Dept./SWQB
21NMEX_WQX7 samples · 2019–2020
Analytical methods
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated 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