Augusta Santa Fe Lake
Butler County, KansasView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Augusta Santa Fe Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 44 ft max depth
- Limited data
Augusta Santa Fe Lake in Butler County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 195 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 42.9 µg/L.
Augusta Santa Fe Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Butler County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 44 feet. Water clarity is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Butler County, Augusta Santa Fe Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2018-07-31. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Augusta Santa Fe Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Augusta Santa Fe Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Augusta Santa Fe Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Augusta Santa Fe Lake, 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 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 195 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 42.9 µg/L. TSI 75.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 195µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 42.9µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 75 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Augusta Santa Fe Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~44 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Augusta Santa Fe Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
37 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
222 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,286 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Augusta Santa Fe Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Augusta Santa Fe Lake in Butler County, Kansas — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Augusta Santa Fe Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Augusta Santa Fe Lake
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Fishing Augusta Santa Fe Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2014–2018). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Stable-1.25 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-1.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Augusta Santa Fe Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Santa Fe Lake Dam (completed 1927), built primarily for recreation on the Dry Creek; earth-type dam, 38 ft tall and 1,100 ft long.
- Normal storage
- 0 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 8,650 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 37.19 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- AUGUSTA, CITY OF
All listed purposes: Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00310 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.19 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Augusta Santa Fe Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM041601 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Butler County
Frequently asked questions about Augusta Santa Fe Lake
Where is Augusta Santa Fe Lake?
- Augusta Santa Fe Lake is a lake in Butler County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Augusta Santa Fe Lake?
- Augusta Santa Fe Lake in Butler County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 195 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 42.9 µg/L.
Is Augusta Santa Fe Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Augusta Santa Fe Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Augusta Santa Fe Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Augusta Santa Fe Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 44 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
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Where this data comes from
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX8 samples · 2014–2018
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)