Water Resources Program fact sheet
Missouri Geological Survey Director: Carey Bridges, RG
PUB2788

The Stanberry Lake streamgage near Gentry is owned by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and funded in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Stage (water-surface elevation) measurements are made and recorded at 15-minute intervals and transmitted to the USGS office every hour. Stage and streamflow values are displayed in near real-time.

Stanberry Lake, created by the damming of Linn Creek, is located 6 miles southwest of Gentry in the Central Dissected Till Plains.  The lake is used by the Middle Fork Water Company to provide water for the cities of Stanberry, Grant City, Parnell and the rural population (DNR).

The streamgage is located on the Stanberry Lake dam, an earthen embankment dam, behind the Middle Fork Water Company office on State Highway 169 near Gentry in Gentry County and consists of a shelter, a data collection platform and an electronic pressure transducer used to measure the elevation of the lake. Learn how a USGS streamgage works.

Streamgage Information

  • 10-Digit Hydrologic Unit Code: 1028010103
  • Area of HUC10 basin: 198 square miles
  • Maximum Reservoir Storage: 1625 acre-feet
  • Gage Location: 40°17'19", -94°25'57" (Gentry County)
  • Gage Datum: 880 feet above NAVD88

USGS Tools

  • Surface Area: Oct. 1, 2007 to present
  • Reservoir Storage (acres/feet): Oct. 1, 2007 to present
  • Lake Elevation (feet): March 31, 2007 to present

The Stanberry Lake streamgage webpage is maintained by USGS. Users are able to create graphs and tables utilizing the recorded parameters (surface area, reservoir storage and elevation) which can be customized to show current/historical observations and daily data for any time frame within the period of record. A location map and Water-Year Summary are also available. Customize your own data output online.  

Why is the Stanberry Lake Streamgage Important?

Stanberry Lake provides water for more than 2,000 individuals and contributes the excess water to the Middle Fork Grand River. Low water levels detected by the streamgage can indicate a water shortage or a drought, while higher water levels can increase the stage of Linn Creek.

Around the lake, low-lying agricultural areas are used to grow corn and soybeans, with forest and pasture making up the remaining land use. 

In the area, people can enjoy:

  • Fishing
  • Boating and Floating
  • Hunting
  • Bird-watching
  • Hiking

For more information on recreation activities located in the area, contact the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Figure 3.   Overview of Stanberry Lake.     
Figure 4.   Profile view of streamgage housing and location.
 
Figure 5.   Lake spillway, feeding into Linn Creek.     
Figure 6.   Water intake.
 

1    REFERENCES CITED

Missouri Water Supply Study 2013

Eaton, David Wolfe (1917). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. p. 346.


Nothing in this document may be used to implement any enforcement action or levy any penalty unless promulgated by rule under chapter 536 or authorized by statute.


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