Stanford Reservoir
Lincoln County, Kentucky40 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Stanford Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Limited data
Stanford Reservoir in Lincoln County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 16 µg/L. Surface area: 40 acres.
Stanford Reservoir is a 40-acre mesotrophic lake in Lincoln County, Kentucky. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Lincoln County, Stanford Reservoir ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2018-10-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Stanford Reservoir covers about 40 acres in Lincoln County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Stanford Reservoir on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Stanford Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Stanford Reservoir
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Stanford Reservoir, 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 16 µg/L. TSI 44.
| 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 | 16µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading 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. | 44 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Stanford Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
40 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Stanford Reservoir, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Stanford Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Stanford Reservoir in Lincoln County, Kentucky — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Stanford Reservoir
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Fishing Stanford Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2013–2018). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.66 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Stanford Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Rice Lake Dam (completed 1953), built primarily for water supply on the Dix River; earth-type dam, 49 ft tall and 1,000 ft long.
- Surface area
- 40 ac
- Normal storage
- 640 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 980 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0.79 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF STANFORD
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY00026 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Lincoln County
Frequently asked questions about Stanford Reservoir
Where is Stanford Reservoir?
- Stanford Reservoir is a lake in Lincoln County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Stanford Reservoir?
- Stanford Reservoir in Lincoln County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 16 µg/L. Surface area: 40 acres.
Is Stanford Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Stanford Reservoir across LakeQuality
More lakes in Kentucky
Other Lakes in Kentucky
Mesotrophic Lakes in Kentucky
Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX11 samples · 2013–2018
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
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.