Springer Lake
Colfax County, New Mexico453 acresView mapDirections
NMED publishes the water-quality measurements for Springer Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 17 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Ask about Springer Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Springer Lake in Colfax County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Surface area: 453 acres.
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Springer Lake is a 453-acre lake in Colfax County, New Mexico with an estimated average depth of about 17 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NMED, last sampled 2016-10-19. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Springer Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Springer Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Springer Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Mexico Environment Department and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Springer Lake
These are the measurements NMED publishes for Springer 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 1.3 ft of visibility. TSI 73.
| Metric | Value | EPA condition class |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 1.3 ft | Measured, not scored |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No recent samples | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 73 | Hypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~17 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~4 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 453 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 Springer 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
- Springer LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Fishing Springer Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Springer Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Springer Lake Dam (completed 1920), built primarily for irrigation on the Cimarron River - Os; earth-type dam, 29 ft tall and 4,190 ft long.
- Surface area
- 453 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,100 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 8,200 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 17 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- SPRINGER DITCH COMPANY
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NM00371 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Springer 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-2305.1.B_10 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Colfax County
Frequently asked questions about Springer Lake
Where is Springer Lake?
- Springer Lake is a lake in Colfax County, New Mexico. Its water-quality measurements are published by NMED and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Springer Lake?
- Springer Lake in Colfax County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Surface area: 453 acres.
Is Springer Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Springer Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Springer Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Springer Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 17 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 453 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Springer Lake?
- Springer Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Springer Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
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Where this data comes from
5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2015–2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- NM Environmental Dept./SWQB
21NMEX_WQX5 samples · 2015–2016
Analytical methods
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory