Winfield City Lake
Cowley County, Kansas1,130 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Winfield City Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 86 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Winfield City Lake in Cowley County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 27.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13 µg/L. Surface area: 1130 acres.
Winfield City Lake is a 1,130-acre lake in Cowley County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 86 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2017-06-27. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Winfield City Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 documented ramps
- Big water1,130 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Winfield City Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Winfield City Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Winfield City Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Winfield City Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 3.6 ft. Phosphorus 27.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 13 µg/L. TSI 55.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 27.5µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 13µg/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. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Winfield City Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~86 ft est.
Surface area
1,130 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Winfield City Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
66 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
9.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,250 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
- Timber Creek Lake EastPublic
- Timber Creek Lake CentralPublic
- Timber Creek Lake WestPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Fishing Winfield City Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Winfield City Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Timber Creek Mpd No 29 (completed 1970), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Timber Creek; earth-type dam, 91 ft tall and 5,800 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,130 ac
- Normal storage
- 19,800 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 65,300 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 64.2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- WINFIELD, CITY OF
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS02453 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.56 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Winfield City Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM050801 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Cowley County
Frequently asked questions about Winfield City Lake
Where is Winfield City Lake?
- Winfield City Lake is a lake in Cowley County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Winfield City Lake?
- Winfield City Lake in Cowley County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 27.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 13 µg/L. Surface area: 1130 acres.
Is Winfield City Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Winfield City Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Winfield City Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Winfield City Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 86 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 1130 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Winfield City Lake?
- Winfield City Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Timber Creek Lake East, Timber Creek Lake Central, Timber Creek Lake West. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Winfield City Lake?
- Winfield City Lake has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX5 samples · 2017
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory