Shelbyville Lake
Shelby County, Missouri30 acresView mapDirections
Missouri DNR publishes the water-quality measurements for Shelbyville Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 43 ft max depth
Shelbyville Lake in Shelby County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 252.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 112.4 µg/L. Surface area: 30 acres.
Shelbyville Lake is a 30-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Shelby County, Missouri with an estimated average depth of about 43 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Shelby County, Shelbyville Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Missouri DNR, last sampled 2023-08-02. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Shelbyville Lake covers about 30 acres in Shelby County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Shelbyville Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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. Shelbyville Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Shelbyville Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Shelbyville Lake
These are the measurements Missouri DNR publishes for Shelbyville 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 1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 252.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 112.4 µg/L. TSI 80.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 253µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 112µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 80 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Shelbyville Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Shelbyville Lake typically sits around 84°F at the surface in August. Summer average is about 83°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 84°F) and coldest in May (about 73°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (73°F) to its warmest (84°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 24 field readings (2010–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Shelbyville Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~43 ft est.
Surface area
30 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Missouri has not published bathymetry for Shelbyville Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
725 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 Shelbyville Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Shelbyville Lake in Shelby County, Missouri — 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 Shelbyville Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Shelbyville Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Missouri’s top lakes →
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Fishing Shelbyville Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+81.8 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+29.6 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Shelbyville Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Shelbyville Lake Dam (completed 1956), built primarily for recreation on the TR-BLACK CREEK; earth-type dam, 16 ft tall.
- Surface area
- 30 ac
- Normal storage
- 97 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 257 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1,158 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF SHELBYVILLE
All listed purposes: Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MO10028 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Shelbyville Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MO_7036.00 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
2 EPA-permitted facilities operate within about 5 miles of Shelbyville Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 2 facilities have a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Shelbyville WwtfShelbyville · 0.9 mi away · NPDES MO0054704Recent violation
- Bethel WwtfBethel · 4.9 mi away · NPDES MO0110001Recent violation
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 Shelby County
Frequently asked questions about Shelbyville Lake
Where is Shelbyville Lake?
- Shelbyville Lake is a lake in Shelby County, Missouri. Its water-quality measurements are published by Missouri DNR and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Shelbyville Lake?
- Shelbyville Lake in Shelby County, Missouri has water-quality measurements published by Missouri DNR, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 252.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 112.4 µg/L. Surface area: 30 acres.
Is Shelbyville Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Shelbyville Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Shelbyville Lake?
- Shelbyville Lake typically sits around 84°F at the surface in August, from 24 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Shelbyville Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Shelbyville Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 43 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 30 acres.
Explore Shelbyville Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
36 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
UMC36 samples · 2022–2023
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk in meters
- 4500 P E ~ Phosphorus in Water by Colorimetry- Ascorbic Acid Method
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)