White Earth Dam Lake
Mountrail County, North Dakota160 acresView mapDirections
ND DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for White Earth Dam Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 10 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
White Earth Dam Lake in Mountrail County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 279.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.5 µg/L. Surface area: 160.2 acres.
White Earth Dam Lake is a 160-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Mountrail County, North Dakota with an estimated average depth of about 10 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 4 other monitored lakes in Mountrail County, White Earth Dam Lake ranks #4 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDDEQ, last sampled 2024-10-03. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What White Earth Dam Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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 White Earth Dam 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 White Earth Dam Lake
These are the measurements ND DEQ publishes for White Earth Dam 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 3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 279.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 3.5 µg/L. TSI 63.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 280µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3.5µg/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. | 63 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about White Earth Dam Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Jul 6, 2026, 4:30 AM from gauge 06331885 (White Earth Lake Near White Earth, ND). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
→ White Earth Dam Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~10 ft est.
Surface area
160 acres
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 White Earth Dam Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
543 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,142 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
- White Earth DamPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near White Earth Dam Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near White Earth Dam Lake in Mountrail 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around White Earth Dam Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near White Earth Dam Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing White Earth Dam Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
White Earth Dam Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the White Earth Dam (completed 1970), built primarily for recreation on the White Earth River; earth-type dam, 46 ft tall and 1,360 ft long.
- Surface area
- 160.2 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,553.7 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,239 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 280 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Mountrail County WRB
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID ND00034 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Mountrail County
Frequently asked questions about White Earth Dam Lake
Where is White Earth Dam Lake?
- White Earth Dam Lake is a lake in Mountrail 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 White Earth Dam Lake?
- White Earth Dam Lake in Mountrail County, North Dakota has water-quality measurements published by ND DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 279.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3.5 µg/L. Surface area: 160.2 acres.
Is White Earth Dam Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is White Earth Dam Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers White Earth Dam Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 10 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 160.2 acres.
What is the water level at White Earth Dam Lake?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for White Earth Dam Lake is 2153.54 ft of water-surface elevation, recorded Jul 6, 2026, 4:30 AM at gauge 06331885. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
Are there boat ramps on White Earth Dam Lake?
- White Earth Dam Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include White Earth Dam. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at White Earth Dam Lake?
- White Earth Dam 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 White Earth Dam Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
20 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_WQX20 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
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