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LakeQuality

Clayton Lake

Pushmataha County, Oklahoma66 acresView mapDirections

Oklahoma DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Clayton Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
5.2 ft
Secchi · sampled 2018
Max depth
~32 ft est.
GLOBathy model
Area
66 acres
Surface area
  • Impaired · Mercury
  • 32 ft max depth
  • Public access
  • Limited data

Ask about Clayton Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Clayton Lake in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.2 ft visibility. Surface area: 66 acres.

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Clayton Lake is a 66-acre lake in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma with an estimated average depth of about 32 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ODEQ, last sampled 2018-07-30. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.

What Clayton Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Boat launch1 documented ramp

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Clayton Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Clayton Lake 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.

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Water quality measurements for Clayton Lake

These are the measurements Oklahoma DEQ publishes for Clayton 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 5.2 ft. TSI 53.

MetricValueEPA condition class
Water Clarity (Secchi Depth)5.2 ftMeasured, not scored
PhosphorusNo recent samples
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No recent samples
Trophic State Index (TSI)53Eutrophic

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

Lake Details

CharacteristicValue
Maximum Depth~32 ft est.
Average Depth~20 ft est.
Surface Area66 acres
Public AccessYes

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

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
Shoreline
1.3 mi
Elevation
682 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
  • Clayton Lake State ParkPublic

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

Fishing Clayton Lake

Reservoir Info (USACE NID)

Clayton Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Clayton Lake (completed 1946), built primarily for recreation on the Peal Creek; earth-type dam, 53 ft tall and 630 ft long.

Surface area
66 ac
Normal storage
953 ac-ft
Max storage
1,487 ac-ft
Drainage area
8.69 sq mi
Hazard class
High
Owner
Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department

Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID OK21490 · Operator website

EPA Impairment Status

Clayton Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Mercury

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit OK410300030780_00 · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in Pushmataha County

Frequently asked questions about Clayton Lake

Where is Clayton Lake?

Clayton Lake is a lake in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. Its water-quality measurements are published by Oklahoma DEQ and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Clayton Lake?

Clayton Lake in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.2 ft visibility. Surface area: 66 acres.

Is Clayton Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Clayton Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.

How deep is Clayton Lake?

No published bathymetric survey covers Clayton Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 32 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 66 acres.

Are there boat ramps on Clayton Lake?

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

Where this data comes from

12 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2017–2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • OWRB Lakes MonitoringOKWRB-LAKES_WQX12 samples · 2017–2018

Analytical methods

  • OWRB Lakes Field Data Collection
Monitoring station identifiers (3)

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