Spooner Lake
Douglas County, Nevada100 acresView mapDirections
NDEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Spooner Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · pH / acidity
- Limited data
Spooner Lake in Douglas County, Nevada has water-quality measurements published by NDEP, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 40.6 µg/L. Surface area: 100 acres.
Spooner Lake is a 100-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Douglas County, Nevada. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Douglas County, Spooner Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEP, last sampled 2025-06-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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. Spooner Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity, temperature, turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Spooner Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Spooner Lake
These are the measurements NDEP publishes for Spooner 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 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 40.6 µg/L. TSI 62.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 40µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 40.6µg/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. | 62 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Spooner Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
100 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Spooner Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Spooner Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2012–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+3.54 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+3.55 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Spooner Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Spooner Lake Dam, built primarily for recreation on the North Canyon Creek; earth-type dam, 37 ft tall and 420 ft long.
- Surface area
- 100 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,580 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,580 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1.5 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- NEVADA DCNR PARKS
All listed purposes: Recreation;Irrigation;Fish and Wildlife Pond.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NV00198 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Spooner 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 NV06-TB-25_00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Douglas County
Frequently asked questions about Spooner Lake
Where is Spooner Lake?
- Spooner Lake is a lake in Douglas County, Nevada. Its water-quality measurements are published by NDEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Spooner Lake?
- Spooner Lake in Douglas County, Nevada has water-quality measurements published by NDEP, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 40.6 µg/L. Surface area: 100 acres.
Is Spooner Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Spooner Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for pH / acidity, temperature, turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Spooner Lake across LakeQuality
2 documented falls within 18.1 mi, nearest Galena Creek Falls
4 thermal springs within 9.9 mi, nearest Hobo Hot Springs
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Where this data comes from
9 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2023–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
21NEV1_WQX9 samples · 2023–2025
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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