Sheep Creek Dam Lake
Grant County, North Dakota87 acresView mapDirections
ND DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Sheep Creek Dam Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 13 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Sheep Creek Dam Lake in Grant County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 221.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15 µg/L. Surface area: 87 acres.
Sheep Creek Dam Lake is a 87-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Grant County, North Dakota with an estimated average depth of about 13 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Grant County, Sheep Creek Dam Lake ranks #4 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDDEQ, last sampled 2023-10-20. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Sheep Creek Dam Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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. Sheep Creek Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Sheep Creek Dam Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Sheep Creek Dam Lake
These are the measurements ND DEQ publishes for Sheep Creek Dam 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 2.7 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 221.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 15 µg/L. TSI 67.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 222µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 15µg/L | Measured, not scored 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. | 67 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Sheep Creek Dam Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Sheep Creek Dam Lake typically sits around 49°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 72°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 78°F) and coldest in Jan (about 37°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (37°F) to its warmest (78°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 45 field readings (2012–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Sheep Creek Dam Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~13 ft est.
Surface area
87 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by ND DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Dakota has not published bathymetry for Sheep Creek Dam Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
63 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,218 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
- Sheep Creek DamPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Sheep Creek Dam Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Sheep Creek Dam Lake
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Fishing Sheep Creek Dam Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Sheep Creek Dam Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Sheep Creek Dam (completed 1969), built primarily for recreation on the Sheep Creek; earth-type dam, 61 ft tall and 1,050 ft long.
- Surface area
- 87 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,180 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,960 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 57.9 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Grant County WRB
All listed purposes: Recreation;Fish and Wildlife Pond.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID ND00004 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Sheep Creek Dam Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit ND-10130204-001-L_00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Grant County
Frequently asked questions about Sheep Creek Dam Lake
Where is Sheep Creek Dam Lake?
- Sheep Creek Dam Lake is a lake in Grant County, North Dakota. Its water-quality measurements are published by ND DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Sheep Creek Dam Lake?
- Sheep Creek Dam Lake in Grant County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 221.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15 µg/L. Surface area: 87 acres.
Is Sheep Creek Dam Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Sheep Creek Dam Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Sheep Creek Dam Lake?
- Sheep Creek Dam Lake typically sits around 49°F at the surface in October, from 45 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2012–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Sheep Creek Dam Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Sheep Creek Dam Lake, 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 87 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Sheep Creek Dam Lake?
- Sheep Creek Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Sheep Creek Dam. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Sheep Creek Dam Lake?
- Sheep Creek Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Dakota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Sheep Creek Dam Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
20 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Dakota Department Of Environmental Quality
21NDHDWQ_WQX20 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
- 4500 NO3 E ~ Nitrate in Water- Cadmium Reduction
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)
Depth, fish, and access data from North Dakota Game & Fish
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory