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LakeQuality

Big Creek Lake

Delta County, Texas513 acresView mapDirections

NR
Not rated

Not enough samples to grade — no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years). No letter yet. Here is what we do have.

Water temp
No reading
No gauge
Clarity
1.5 ft
Secchi · sampled 2020
Max depth
~38 ft est.
GLOBathy model
Level
No reading
No gauge
Trend
No reading
Not enough history
  • 38 ft max depth
  • Public access
  • Limited data

Big Creek Lake in Delta County, Texas is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 111 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 16.3 µg/L. Surface area: 512.8 acres.

Clarity
1.5 ft
Max depth
~38 ft est.
Area
513 acres
Phosphorus
111 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a
16.3 µg/L
Public access
Yes
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Why Big Creek Lake has no grade

We grade a lake only when the monitoring record supports a letter: at least three phosphorus or chlorophyll-a samples in the last ten years, scored against EPA National Lakes Assessment thresholds for this lake’s ecoregion. For Big Creek Lake, no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years). Sampling here has recorded water clarity, phosphorus and algae (chlorophyll-a).

Not Rated is not an F. It is EPA Integrated Reporting Category 3 — insufficient information. The water here may be excellent or poor; nobody has measured enough of it to say. Everything below that has been measured is still reported on this page.

Sampling is run by TCEQ and volunteer programs, and published through the EPA Water Quality Portal. Read the full grading methodology.

Big Creek Lake is a 513-acre lake in Delta County, Texas with an estimated average depth of about 38 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TCEQ, last sampled 2020-06-10. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.

What Big Creek Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Boat launch1 documented ramp

Swimming Safety

Not rated

Limited data

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Get alerts for Big Creek Lake

Water quality measurements for Big Creek Lake

These readings exist but are not enough for an A–F grade — see why.

Very murky, less than 1.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 111 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 16.3 µg/L. TSI 67.

MetricValueGrade
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)1.5 ftNot graded
Phosphorus111 µg/LNot graded
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)16.3 µg/LNot graded
Trophic State Index (TSI)67Eutrophic

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

Lake Details

CharacteristicValue
Maximum Depth~38 ft est.
Average Depth~4 ft est.
Surface Area513 acres
Public AccessYes

Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Texas has not published bathymetry for Big Creek Lake.

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area
12 sq mi
Shoreline
4 mi
Elevation
459 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

1
Boat Landings
Yes
Public Access
  • Big Creek LakePublic

Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps

Fishing Big Creek Lake

Reservoir Info (USACE NID)

Big Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Big Creek Dam (completed 1987), built primarily for water supply on the Big Creek; earth-type dam, 38 ft tall and 4,350 ft long.

Surface area
512.8 ac
Normal storage
4,625 ac-ft
Max storage
13,296 ac-ft
Drainage area
11.92 sq mi
Hazard class
High
Owner
CITY OF COOPER

Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID TX06314 · Operator website

Graded lakes near Big Creek Lake

Big Creek Lake has no grade, but these lakes within a short drive do.

Nearby Lakes in Delta County

Frequently asked questions about Big Creek Lake

Where is Big Creek Lake?

Big Creek Lake is a lake in Delta County, Texas. LakeQuality has not rated this lake (UNRATED) — no nutrient or algae measurement meets the evidence bar (at least 3 samples within 10 years).

What is the water quality grade for Big Creek Lake?

Big Creek Lake in Delta County, Texas is not rated for water quality — its monitoring record does not meet the evidence bar. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 111 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 16.3 µg/L. Surface area: 512.8 acres.

Is Big Creek Lake safe to swim in?

The letter is not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

How deep is Big Creek Lake?

No published bathymetric survey covers Big Creek Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 38 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 512.8 acres.

Are there boat ramps on Big Creek Lake?

Big Creek Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Big Creek Lake. Public access is listed as yes.

Where this data comes from

6 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Texas Commission on Environmental QualityTCEQMAIN6 samples · 2020
Monitoring station identifiers (1)

Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated 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