Trenton Lake
Williams County, North DakotaView mapDirections
ND DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Trenton Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 30 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Trenton Lake in Williams County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 44 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.2 µg/L.
Trenton Lake is a lake in Williams County, North Dakota with an estimated average depth of about 30 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDDEQ, last sampled 2024-06-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Trenton Lake has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Trenton Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Trenton 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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Trenton Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Trenton Lake
These are the measurements ND DEQ publishes for Trenton 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 1.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 44 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 4.2 µg/L. TSI 58.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 44µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 4.2µg/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. | 58 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Trenton Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~30 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by ND DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. North Dakota has not published bathymetry for Trenton Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
61 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
1,250 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
12.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,841 ft
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
- Trenton LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Trenton Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Trenton Lake in Williams County, North Dakota — 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 Trenton Lake
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Fishing Trenton Lake
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Trenton Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits. 1 facility has a reported Clean Water Act violation in the past three years.
- Safuels X Renewable Fuels FacilityWilliston · 4.1 mi away · NPDES ND0027031Recent 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 Williams County
Frequently asked questions about Trenton Lake
Where is Trenton Lake?
- Trenton Lake is a lake in Williams County, North Dakota. Its water-quality measurements are published by ND DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Trenton Lake?
- Trenton Lake in Williams County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 44 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.2 µg/L.
Is Trenton Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Trenton Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Trenton Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 30 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Trenton Lake?
- Trenton Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Trenton Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Trenton Lake?
- Trenton Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by North Dakota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Trenton Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
10 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North Dakota Department Of Environmental Quality
21NDHDWQ_WQX10 samples · 2024
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
- 4500 NO3 E ~ Nitrate in Water- Cadmium Reduction
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Depth, fish, and access data from North Dakota Game & Fish
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory