Big Hill Lake
Labette County, Kansas1,192 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Big Hill Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 64 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Big Hill Lake in Labette County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18.5 µg/L. Surface area: 1192 acres.
Big Hill Lake is a 1,192-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Labette County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 64 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2016-09-06. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Big Hill Lake covers about 1,200 acres in Labette County. It has 2 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Big Hill Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Big Hill Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
- Camping4 public campgrounds nearby
- Big water1,192 acres
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. Big Hill Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Big Hill 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 Big Hill Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Big Hill Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 3.9 ft. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 18.5 µg/L. TSI 55.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 20µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 18.5µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Big Hill Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~64 ft est.
Surface area
1,192 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Big Hill Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
39 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
15.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
866 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
- Mound ValleyPublic
- Timber HillPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Big Hill Lake
- Cherryvale Park0.7 kmReserve
- Downstream Point0.7 kmReserve
- Mound Valley0.7 kmReserve
- Overlook (ks)0.7 kmReserve
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Big Hill Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Big Hill Lake in Labette 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Big Hill Lake
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Fishing Big Hill Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2014–2016). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Stable2 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-2.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Big Hill Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Big Hill Dam (completed 1981), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Big Hill Ck; earth-type dam, 83 ft tall and 3,902 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,192 ac
- Normal storage
- 26,969 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 39,540 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 37 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Tulsa District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00049 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Big Hill 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-LM031001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Labette County
Frequently asked questions about Big Hill Lake
Where is Big Hill Lake?
- Big Hill Lake is a lake in Labette County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Big Hill Lake?
- Big Hill Lake in Labette County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18.5 µg/L. Surface area: 1192 acres.
Is Big Hill Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Big Hill Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Big Hill Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Big Hill Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 64 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 1192 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Big Hill Lake?
- Big Hill Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Mound Valley, Timber Hill. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Big Hill Lake?
- Big Hill Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Big Hill Lake?
- Big Hill Lake has 4 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Cherryvale Park, Downstream Point, Mound Valley, Overlook (ks). This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Big Hill Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX11 samples · 2014–2016
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles