Altus Reservoir
Greer County, Oklahoma6,260 acresView mapDirections
Oklahoma DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Altus Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- 84 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Altus Reservoir in Greer County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Surface area: 6260 acres.
Altus Reservoir is a 6,260-acre lake in Greer County, Oklahoma with an estimated average depth of about 84 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ODEQ, last sampled 2021-09-28. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Altus Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 documented ramps
- Big water6,260 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Altus Reservoir is safe to swim in today is a call for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Altus Reservoir
These are the measurements Oklahoma DEQ publishes for Altus Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility. TSI 71.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 71 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Altus Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Altus Reservoir water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~84 ft est.
Surface area
6,260 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Oklahoma DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Oklahoma has not published bathymetry for Altus Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
2,817 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
24.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,565 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Quartz Mountain State ParkPublic
- LakeviewPublic
- Hick's Mountain RoadPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Altus Reservoir
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Fishing Altus Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2016–2020). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Altus Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Altus East Dike (completed 1944), built primarily for irrigation on the Red River; earth-type dam, 35 ft tall and 10,240 ft long.
- Surface area
- 6,260 ac
- Normal storage
- 134,495 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 168,120 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 2,515 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID OK82902 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Greer County
Frequently asked questions about Altus Reservoir
Where is Altus Reservoir?
- Altus Reservoir is a lake in Greer County, Oklahoma. Its water-quality measurements are published by Oklahoma DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Altus Reservoir?
- Altus Reservoir in Greer County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Surface area: 6260 acres.
Is Altus Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Altus Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Altus Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 84 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 6260 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Altus Reservoir?
- Altus Reservoir has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Quartz Mountain State Park, Lakeview, Hick's Mountain Road. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Altus Reservoir?
- Altus Reservoir has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Oklahoma's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Altus Reservoir across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
31 measurements from 4 monitoring stations, 2016–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- OWRB Lakes Monitoring
OKWRB-LAKES_WQX31 samples · 2016–2021
Analytical methods
- OWRB Lakes Field Data Collection
- Determination of Turbidity
Monitoring station identifiers (4)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory