Winchester Reservoir
Clark County, Kentucky90 acresView mapDirections
Kentucky DOW publishes the water-quality measurements for Winchester Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 35 ft max depth
- Limited data
Winchester Reservoir in Clark County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 127 µg/L. Surface area: 90 acres.
Winchester Reservoir is a 90-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Clark County, Kentucky with an estimated average depth of about 35 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KY DOW, last sampled 2022-09-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Winchester Reservoir covers about 90 acres in Clark County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Winchester Reservoir, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
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. Winchester Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Winchester Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kentucky Division of Water and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Winchester Reservoir
These are the measurements Kentucky DOW publishes for Winchester Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data. Phosphorus 127 µg/L. TSI 74.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | No reading How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. | |
| Total phosphorus | 127µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 74 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Winchester Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~35 ft est.
Surface area
90 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kentucky has not published bathymetry for Winchester Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
11 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
892 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Winchester Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Winchester Reservoir in Clark County, Kentucky — 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 Winchester Reservoir are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Winchester Reservoir
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Fishing Winchester Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Winchester Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Winchester Dam (completed 1985), built primarily for water supply on the Lower Howard Creek; roller-compacted concrete-type dam, 70 ft tall and 1,100 ft long.
- Surface area
- 90 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,672 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,900 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 5.3 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- WINCHESTER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KY01035 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Winchester Reservoir is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KY-2038 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Clark County
Frequently asked questions about Winchester Reservoir
Where is Winchester Reservoir?
- Winchester Reservoir is a lake in Clark County, Kentucky. Its water-quality measurements are published by Kentucky DOW and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Winchester Reservoir?
- Winchester Reservoir in Clark County, Kentucky has water-quality measurements published by Kentucky DOW, shown here as reported. Phosphorus: 127 µg/L. Surface area: 90 acres.
Is Winchester Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Winchester Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Winchester Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Winchester Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 35 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 90 acres.
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Where this data comes from
24 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- KY WQX
21KY_WQX24 samples · 2022
Analytical methods
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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)