Tower Lake
Lake County, IllinoisView mapDirections
Illinois EPA publishes the water-quality measurements for Tower Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Noxious aquatic plants
- 34 ft max depth
- Limited data
Ask about Tower Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Tower Lake in Lake County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18.3 µg/L.
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Tower Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Lake County, Illinois with an estimated average depth of about 34 feet. Compared to the 18 other monitored lakes in Lake County, Tower Lake ranks #9 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Illinois EPA, last sampled 2021-08-10. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyBacteria advisory
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. Tower Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for noxious aquatic plants, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pathogens (E. coli, fecal), turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Tower Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Tower Lake
These are the measurements Illinois EPA publishes for Tower 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. Chlorophyll-a 18.3 µg/L. TSI 59.
| Metric | Value | EPA condition class |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | No recent samples | |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 18.3 µg/L | Fair |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 59 | Eutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~34 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~12 ft est. |
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Illinois has not published bathymetry for Tower 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.
Fishing Tower Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Tower Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit IL_RTZF · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Lake County
Frequently asked questions about Tower Lake
Where is Tower Lake?
- Tower Lake is a lake in Lake County, Illinois. Its water-quality measurements are published by Illinois EPA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Tower Lake?
- Tower Lake in Lake County, Illinois has water-quality measurements published by Illinois EPA, shown here as reported. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18.3 µg/L.
Is Tower Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Tower Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for noxious aquatic plants, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pathogens (E. coli, fecal), turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Tower Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Tower Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 34 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- illinois epa
IL_EPA_WQX6 samples · 2021
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)