Sylvan Lake
Newaygo County, MichiganView mapDirections
EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Sylvan Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 63 ft max depth
- Limited data
Sylvan Lake in Newaygo County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 63 ft.
Sylvan Lake is a lake in Newaygo County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 63 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. The lake supports 14 documented fish species including Blacknose shiner, Bluegill, and Bluntnose minnow.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2022-09-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Sylvan Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Sylvan Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water16 ft of visibility
- Fishing14 species recorded
- Deep water63 ft surveyed max depth
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Sylvan Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Sylvan Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Sylvan Lake
These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Sylvan Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down. TSI 37.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 16ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| 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. | 37 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Sylvan Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
63 ft
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Sylvan Lake
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Fish Species
Click a species to see every lake where it is documented.
Fishing Sylvan Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 8 years of monitoring (2016–2023).
Water clarity
Stable8 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.5 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.15 µg/L/yr3 years
EPA Impairment Status
Sylvan Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit MI040601020903-07 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Sylvan Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Chain Of Lakes Sa WwtpNewaygo · 0.6 mi away · NPDES MI0056998Recent 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 Newaygo County
Frequently asked questions about Sylvan Lake
Where is Sylvan Lake?
- Sylvan Lake is a lake in Newaygo County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Sylvan Lake?
- Sylvan Lake in Newaygo County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 16 ft visibility. Maximum depth: 63 ft.
Is Sylvan Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Sylvan Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Sylvan Lake?
- Sylvan Lake has a maximum depth of 63 feet.
What fish are in Sylvan Lake?
- Fish species found in Sylvan Lake include Blacknose shiner, Bluegill, Bluntnose minnow, Green sunfish, Iowa darter, Largemouth bass, Northern pike, Rock bass, Sand shiner, Smallmouth bass, Walleye, Western banded killifish, White sucker, Yellow perch. Sylvan Lake is located in Newaygo County, Michigan.
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Where this data comes from
83 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS83 samples · 2016–2022
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)