Otter Lake (Illinois)

Otter Lake is a 765-acre (3.0 km²) reservoir in Macoupin County, Illinois. It is located 6 miles (10 km) west of Girard. The reservoir is named after Otter Creek, a tributary of Macoupin Creek and the Illinois River.[1]

Otter Lake
Otter Lake
LocationMacoupin County, Illinois
Coordinates39°24′29″N 089°54′42″W
Typereservoir
Primary inflowsOtter Creek
Primary outflowsOtter Creek
Basin countriesUnited States
Surface area765 acres (310 ha)

Otter Creek was dammed to provide flood control, water-based recreation, and a source of clean water for North Otter and South Otter Townships within Macoupin County. Recreation centers on fishing opportunities, with the lake managed for striped bass, crappie, and muskie.

There is a strictly-enforced power limit on the lake, with motors banned if stronger than 115 horsepower. The lake is troubled by sedimentation, with riprap applied to many patches of shoreline to reduce (but not eliminate) erosion of silt into the lake. Historically, quantities of atrazine have entered the lake from nearby farm fields to which the chemical is applied.[2]

References
  1. Illinois Atlas and Gazetteer. Freeport, Maine: DeLorme Mapping. 1991. ISBN 0-89933-213-7.
  2. "The Otter Lake Story", Grassroots Planning (October 1998), accessed 26 February, 2007.
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