Gage height · USGS gauge 06604200 · updated August 29, 2026
West Okoboji Lake Water LevelAWater-quality grade A
The USGS gauge at West Okoboji Lake at Lakeside Lab near Milford, IA last recorded a gage height of 3.98 ft on August 29, 2026. In Dickinson County, Iowa, West Okoboji Lake carries an overall water-quality grade of A. Water clarity averages 15.7 feet of visibility, and there is one public boat landing on the lake. The water-quality samples behind that grade were submitted to the EPA Water Quality Portal by Iowa DNR Surface Water Monitoring Data; the level above comes from the USGS, which runs the gauge.
Gage height
3.98ft
feet on the station datum
Water temp
49°F
Gauge 06604200, West Okoboji Lake at Lakeside Lab near Milford, IA, operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. The value above is the most recent reading on file with its own timestamp. When the gauge answers, it is replaced by the current one — no estimate is ever shown in place of a missing reading.
What this number is
Gage height is the height of the water above a reference point set at West Okoboji Lake at Lakeside Lab near Milford, IA when the station was installed. It tracks rise and fall at this lake accurately, but the zero point is local: it is not depth, not sea level, and not comparable to another lake's gage height.
- Measured as
- Gage height, ft on the station datum
- Most recent reading on file
- 3.98 ft · August 29, 2026
- Water quality
- AGrade A
No target level is shown here. Saying a lake is high or low needs a conservation pool or a seasonal rule curve to measure against, and the gauge reading alone does not carry one. The station page above holds the full record, including the last several days, which is what a single reading has to be read against.
Surface elevation is a different number
Mapped surface elevation at West Okoboji Lake is about 1,394 feet above sea level, from the HydroLAKES global lake dataset. That is a fixed cartographic value, not a reading: it does not move when the lake rises, and it is not the gage height above. Keep the two apart.
Water quality at West Okoboji Lake
West Okoboji Lake grades A on total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity, measured against the EPA National Lakes Assessment condition classes for its own ecoregion. Clarity averages 15.7 feet of visibility — shown, not scored.
The gauge measures how much water is in the lake. The grade measures what is in the water. A rise or a drawdown does not change the letter until the lake is sampled again.
Common questions
What is the water level at West Okoboji Lake right now?
The most recent reading from the USGS gauge at West Okoboji Lake at Lakeside Lab near Milford, IA is a gage height of 3.98 ft, taken on August 29, 2026. This page reloads that gauge every time it is opened, so the number above is the current one whenever the station is reporting. USGS lake gauges typically post a new value every 15 to 60 minutes.
What does gage height mean?
Gage height is the height of the water above a reference point set at West Okoboji Lake at Lakeside Lab near Milford, IA when the station was installed. It tracks rise and fall at this lake accurately, but the zero point is local: it is not depth, not sea level, and not comparable to another lake's gage height.
Is West Okoboji Lake low?
That question needs a target pool level to answer, and the gauge reading alone does not supply one. Reservoir operators publish a conservation pool or a seasonal rule curve for the lakes they manage, and the USGS station page for gauge 06604200 carries the full record this reading came from, including the past several days. Comparing today against that record is the honest version of "low" — a single number is not.
Does the water level affect water quality at West Okoboji Lake?
West Okoboji Lake carries an overall water-quality grade of A. Lakes are graded A to F on nutrients and algae — total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity — measured against the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 condition classes for that lake's own ecoregion, so a lake is judged against the lakes it would naturally resemble. None of that comes from the gauge. A drawdown can concentrate nutrients and a heavy inflow can dilute them, but neither shows up in the grade until the water is sampled again. Treat the two numbers as separate measurements of the same lake.
Where these numbers come from
The level and temperature are U.S. Geological Survey instantaneous values from gauge 06604200, a public feed with no licence restriction. The water-quality grade is built from EPA Water Quality Portal samples submitted by Iowa DNR Surface Water Monitoring Data. For advisories and standards in Iowa, Iowa DNR is the authority — a gauge reading is neither.