Bully Creek Lake
Malheur County, Oregon985 acresView mapDirections
Oregon DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Bully Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 41 ft max depth
- Public access
Bully Creek Lake in Malheur County, Oregon has water-quality measurements published by Oregon DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 128 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15 µg/L. Surface area: 985 acres.
Bully Creek Lake is a 985-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Malheur County, Oregon with an estimated average depth of about 41 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Malheur County, Bully Creek Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Oregon DEQ, last sampled 2024-07-31. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Bully Creek Lake covers about 990 acres in Malheur County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Bully Creek Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Bully Creek Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Bully Creek Lake
These are the measurements Oregon DEQ publishes for Bully Creek 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 4.9 ft. Phosphorus 128 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 15 µg/L. TSI 62.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 128µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 15µg/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. | 62 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Bully Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~41 ft est.
Surface area
985 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Oregon DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Oregon has not published bathymetry for Bully Creek Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
547 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
7.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,503 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 Bully Creek Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Bully Creek Lake in Malheur County, Oregon — 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 Bully Creek Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Bully Creek Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Bully Creek Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+25.75 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-3.13 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Bully Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Bully Creek Dam (completed 1963), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Bully Creek; earth-type dam, 121 ft tall and 3,080 ft long.
- Surface area
- 985 ac
- Normal storage
- 30,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 31,600 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 549.58 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Irrigation;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID OR00578 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Malheur County
Frequently asked questions about Bully Creek Lake
Where is Bully Creek Lake?
- Bully Creek Lake is a lake in Malheur County, Oregon. Its water-quality measurements are published by Oregon DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Bully Creek Lake?
- Bully Creek Lake in Malheur County, Oregon has water-quality measurements published by Oregon DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 128 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 15 µg/L. Surface area: 985 acres.
Is Bully Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Bully Creek Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Bully Creek Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 41 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 985 acres.
Can I fish at Bully Creek Lake?
- Public access to Bully Creek Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Oregon's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Bully Creek Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
81 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Bureau of Reclamation
1119USBR_WQX81 samples · 2020–2024
Analytical methods
- Zebra/Quagga Mussel APHA 10200G Modified
- Phosphorus by Single Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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)