Lake Facts

Paw Paw Lake is a large and deep lake. The lake has a surface area of 922 acres, a maximum depth of 90 feet, and a mean or average depth of about 32 feet. Paw Paw Lake contains 29,645 acre-feet of water which equates to nearly 9.7 billion gallons. The water residence time of Paw Paw Lake (i.e., the time it takes the entire volume of water in the lake to be replaced by incoming water) is about two years.

Paw Paw Lake has a shoreline length of 12.1 miles and a shoreline development factor of 2.8. Shoreline development factor is a measure of the irregularity of the shoreline. A lake with a perfectly round shape would have a shoreline development factor of 1.0. With a shoreline development factor of 2.8, the shoreline of Paw Paw Lake is nearly three times longer than if the lake were perfectly round. This allows much more development to occur near the lake than if the lake were more circular in shape. Currently, over 1,000 properties border the lake.

Paw Paw Lake has a legal lake level established by circuit court order. Water flows from Paw Paw Lake to the Paw Paw River then southwest to the St. Joseph River and Lake Michigan. The elevation of Paw Paw Lake is approximately 41 feet above Lake Michigan.