Updated Aug 2026
Texas Lake Water Quality
Water quality grades for 164 monitored lakes across 90 counties.
Across Texas, 164 lakes carry an active water-quality grade spread over 90 counties. The underlying measurements come from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, alongside federal programs and volunteer monitoring networks. A-grade lakes are scarce in Texas: about 4% of the dataset. Most lakes here sit in C or D — productive, often shallow, frequently algal in late summer.
Eutrophic conditions dominate — nutrient-loaded, productive, with algal pressure that shows up most years in late summer. These lakes tend to be shallow, agricultural-watershed, and over-warmed by the time July ends. The cleanest county on average is Hutchinson (grade A); the most-stressed is Dallas. The gap between the top and bottom counties is large enough that "Texas lake water quality" hides real local variation.
Grade Distribution
All 164 Texas lakes in the index: 110 (67.1%) carry an A–F grade and 54 (32.9%) are not rated, because they lack enough recent nutrient or algae sampling to support a letter.
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Top-Graded Texas Lakes
The highest water-quality grades in Texas — clarity, depth, and A-F grade at a glance.
Lake Map
Explore Texas Lakes
Texas reports, fishing & travel
Reservoirs in Texas
View all 91 reservoirs →91 of 164 Texas lakes (55%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 89 carry a High or Significant hazard rating. The oldest matched dam dates to 1901.
EPA-Impaired Lakes in Texas
View all 48 impaired lakes →48 of 164 Texas lakes (29%) are officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the most recent EPA ATTAINS reporting cycle. 1 have an approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) restoration plan.
Texas Fishing & Recreation
Licenses, regulations, records, and where to fish across Texas.
Counties
All 90 Texas counties, ranked by average lake water quality. Compare them against every county nationwide in the county rankings, browse the full directory of graded lakes, or pick a different state.
Top 25 Cleanest Lakes
25 lakes25 graded lakes
| # | Lake | County | Grade | Clarity | Trophic | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALake Meredith | Hutchinson | A | 5.3 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 2 | ALake Jacksonville | Cherokee | A | 7.4 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 3 | ALake Daingerfield Headwaters | Morris | A | 8.5 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 4 | ALake Cisco | Eastland | A | 3.9 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 5 | ABrandy Branch Reservoir | Harrison | A | 12 ft | Mesotrophic | Not recorded |
| 6 | ALake Alan Henry | Garza | A | 9.4 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 7 | ALake Hawkins | Wood | A | 6.7 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 8 | BHubbard Creek Reservoir | Stephens | B | 3.1 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 9 | BBois D'Arc Lake | Fannin | B | 2.4 ft | Eutrophic | Not recorded |
| 10 | BHords Creek Reserv Lake | Coleman | B | 2.6 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 11 | BSam Rayburn Reservoir | Jasper | B | 5.2 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 12 | BLake Sweetwater Mid Lake | Nolan | B | 3.6 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 13 | BFairfield Lake | Freestone | B | 3.2 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 14 | CLake Fk Reservoir | Wood | C | 1.9 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 15 | CLynchburg Reservoir | Harris | C | 1.1 ft | Mesotrophic | ✓ Public |
| 16 | CLake Coleman | Coleman | C | 3.9 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 17 | CLake Bob Sandlin | Camp | C | 3.9 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 18 | CB A Steinhagen Reservoir | Jasper | C | 1.1 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 19 | CHouston County Lake | Houston | C | 3 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 20 | CLake Brownwood N End of Dam | Brown | C | 4.3 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 21 | CLake Gilmer | Upshur | C | 3 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 22 | CSam Rayburn Reservoir | San Augustine | C | 3.9 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 23 | CSam Rayburn Lake | Nacogdoches | C | 0.8 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
| 24 | CPurtis Creek Lake | Henderson | C | 3 ft | Eutrophic | Not recorded |
| 25 | CLake Tyler E | Smith | C | 3.3 ft | Eutrophic | ✓ Public |
25 Lakes Needing Attention
25 lakes25 graded lakes
| # | Lake | County | Grade | Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FLewisville Lake Elm Fork | Denton | F | 2.4 ft |
| 2 | FLewisville Lake Site | Denton | F | 2.4 ft |
| 3 | FSomerville Lake | Washington | F | 1.9 ft |
| 4 | FSomerville Lake Upper Portion | Washington | F | 0.9 ft |
| 5 | FLake Waco | McLennan | F | 2.3 ft |
| 6 | FLake Stamford | Haskell | F | 2 ft |
| 7 | FLake Somerville Mid Lake | Burleson | F | 1.8 ft |
| 8 | FSomerville Lake Big Creek Arm | Burleson | F | 1.8 ft |
| 9 | FTradinghouse Creek Reservoir | McLennan | F | 2.7 ft |
| 10 | FLake Palestine Cwqmn Site | Henderson | F | 2.1 ft |
| 11 | FLake Tanglewood | Randall | F | 2.3 ft |
| 12 | FAquilla Reserv Aquilla Creek Arm Lake | Hill | F | 2.2 ft |
| 13 | FLake Waco N Bosque Arm | McLennan | F | 1.3 ft |
| 14 | FLake Opines | Marion | F | 2 ft |
| 15 | FLeon Reservoir | Eastland | F | 1.8 ft |
| 16 | FLake Fryer | Ochiltree | F | 0.7 ft |
| 17 | FLake Mexia | Limestone | F | 1.1 ft |
| 18 | FNew Marlin City Lake | Falls | F | 1.5 ft |
| 19 | FBuffalo Springs Lake | Lubbock | F | 2.4 ft |
| 20 | FUpper Lake Palestine | Smith | F | 1.6 ft |
| 21 | FLake Amon G Carter | Montague | F | 2.3 ft |
| 22 | FLake Weatherford | Parker | F | 2.2 ft |
| 23 | FAquilla Reservoir Hackberry Creek Arm | Hill | F | 1.7 ft |
| 24 | FAquilla Reservoir | Hill | F | 2.1 ft |
| 25 | FPat Cleburne Reservoir | Johnson | F | 2.4 ft |
Lake Match
Which lake suits how you actually use one?
Six questions — swimming, fishing, quiet, cabins, drive time — and a shortlist of graded lakes that fit, with the water quality behind each one.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys and the EPA Water Quality Portal.
More on lake water quality
The top-graded lake in every state we cover, picked grade-first with water clarity as the tie-breaker — plus the states whose winner is still not clean.
State-by-state Secchi champions: the clearest measured lake in each U.S. state we grade, which is not the same as the cleanest nutrient grade.
A data snapshot of the lakes we grade: how the A–F distribution breaks down, the clearest and the greenest states, and where the water is improving.
How lakes are graded A–F on nutrients and algae using EPA ecoregion condition classes, what each letter means in the water, and why an A is not a clearance.