Hefner Lake
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma3,110 acresView mapDirections
Oklahoma DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Hefner Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 71 ft max depth
- Limited data
Hefner Lake in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Surface area: 3110 acres.
Hefner Lake is a 3,110-acre lake in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma with an estimated average depth of about 71 feet. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ODEQ, last sampled 2023-10-04. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Hefner Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
- Big water3,110 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hefner 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.
Water quality measurements for Hefner Lake
These are the measurements Oklahoma DEQ publishes for Hefner Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.3 ft of visibility. TSI 65.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. | |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 65 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Hefner Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Hefner Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~71 ft est.
Surface area
3,110 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Oklahoma has not published bathymetry for Hefner Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
15 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
9.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,214 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
- Lake HefnerSemi-private
- Oklahoma City Boat ClubSemi-private
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Hefner Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Hefner Lake
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Fishing Hefner Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2016–2023).
Water clarity
Stable4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hefner Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Hefner (completed 1943), built primarily for water supply on the Bluff Creek; earth-type dam, 112 ft tall and 26,400 ft long.
- Surface area
- 3,110 ac
- Normal storage
- 74,400 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 107,400 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 9.69 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID OK02535 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Oklahoma County
Frequently asked questions about Hefner Lake
Where is Hefner Lake?
- Hefner Lake is a lake in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. Its water-quality measurements are published by Oklahoma DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hefner Lake?
- Hefner Lake in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Surface area: 3110 acres.
Is Hefner Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Hefner Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hefner Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 71 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 3110 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Hefner Lake?
- Hefner Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Hefner, Oklahoma City Boat Club.
Can I fish at Hefner Lake?
- Hefner 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 Oklahoma's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Hefner Lake across LakeQuality
9.6 mi away · cable-pulled, no boat wake
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Oklahoma's top lakes, each with its readings
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Where this data comes from
38 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2016–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- OWRB Lakes Monitoring
OKWRB-LAKES_WQX38 samples · 2016–2023
Analytical methods
- OWRB Lakes Field Data Collection
- Determination of Turbidity
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory