Need to report trouble or activity to CWLP Security & Boat Patrol?
Call 24-hour Dispatch, 217.757.8600
Email Report with Photo to CWLPLakePatrol@cwlp.com
City Water, Light & Power owns and manages Lake Springfield and its surrounding 57 miles of shoreline,
which includes over 735 residential sites, eight public parks, and several public boat docks and launches.
The lake and lake-area parks are host to some 600,000 recreational visitors each year.
Lake Springfield is a man-made reservoir completed in 1935 at a cost of $2.5 million
(the equivalent of roughly $43 million today). The 3965-acre reservoir is the
largest municipally owned lake in Illinois.
It's primary purpose is to serve as the source of drinking water for the city of
Springfield and several nearby communities. In addition, it is a major central Illinois recreation center,
as well as the source of condenser cooling water for the utility's lakeshore power plant complex.
The average depth of the lake is 12.5 feet and the maximum depth is 27 feet near the water intake tower
just south of the Spaulding Dam gates. The lake's current storage capacity is over 17
billion gallons and its drainage area is 265 square miles.
Lake Springfield, its marginal lands and its watershed—as well as the property dedicated to the construction
of and marginal lands for the proposed Hunter Lake—comprise zones. Ordinances and/or property
leases govern activities that are allowed or disallowed within each of these zones.
Maps of the Lake Springfield and Hunter Lake zones can be found in the documents section of this website.
Land Use Plan
You can find a list of lake and park maps on the following page as well.
Lakes and Parks Maps
Lake Lease Permit Guidance
See our latest Lake Area Deer Population Survey
A Timeline of Lake Springfield