Douglas Co State Fishing Lake
Douglas County, Kansas180 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Douglas Co State Fishing Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 38 ft max depth
- Limited data
Douglas Co State Fishing Lake in Douglas County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.9 µg/L. Surface area: 180 acres.
Douglas Co State Fishing Lake is a 180-acre mesotrophic lake in Douglas County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 38 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Douglas County, Douglas Co State Fishing Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2017-08-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Douglas Co State Fishing Lake covers about 180 acres in Douglas County. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Douglas Co State Fishing Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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 Douglas Co State Fishing 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 Douglas Co State Fishing Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Douglas Co State Fishing Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.5 ft. Phosphorus 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 6.9 µg/L. TSI 47.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 9.5ft | 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) | 6.9µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 47 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Douglas Co State Fishing Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~38 ft est.
Surface area
180 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Douglas Co State Fishing Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
4 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
958 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 Douglas Co State Fishing Lake
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Fishing Douglas Co State Fishing Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2012–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening3 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.41 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Douglas Co State Fishing Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Douglas County State Lake Dam (completed 1961), built primarily for fish and wildlife pond on the Coal Creek; earth-type dam, 70 ft tall and 2,280 ft long.
- Surface area
- 180 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,090 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,150 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.84 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- KANSAS DEPT OF WILDLIFE PARKS & TOURISM
All listed purposes: Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00870 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.35 km)
Nearby Lakes in Douglas County
Frequently asked questions about Douglas Co State Fishing Lake
Where is Douglas Co State Fishing Lake?
- Douglas Co State Fishing Lake is a lake in Douglas County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Douglas Co State Fishing Lake?
- Douglas Co State Fishing Lake in Douglas County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 20 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 6.9 µg/L. Surface area: 180 acres.
Is Douglas Co State Fishing Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Douglas Co State Fishing Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Douglas Co State Fishing 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 180 acres.
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Where this data comes from
15 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX15 samples · 2012–2017
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)