Houston County Lake
Houston County, Texas1,282 acresView mapDirections
TCEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Houston County Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 39 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Houston County Lake in Houston County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 19.3 µg/L. Surface area: 1282 acres.
Houston County Lake is a 1,282-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Houston County, Texas with an estimated average depth of about 39 feet. Water clarity is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 4 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TCEQ, last sampled 2026-01-21. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Houston County Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch4 documented ramps
- Big water1,282 acres
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. Houston County Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Houston County Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Houston County Lake
These are the measurements TCEQ publishes for Houston County 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 3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 19.3 µg/L. TSI 58.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 30µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 19.3µg/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. | 58 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Houston County Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Houston County Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~39 ft est.
Surface area
1,282 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by TCEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Texas has not published bathymetry for Houston County Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
50 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
12.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
272 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
- County BoatPublic
- Beaver RunPublic
- Sawmill RoadPublic
- Crockett Family ResortSemi-private
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Houston County Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Houston County Lake
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Fishing Houston County Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2021–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-0.76 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Houston County Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Houston County Lake Dam (completed 1966), built primarily for water supply on the Little Elkhart Creek; earth-type dam, 51 ft tall and 1,700 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,282 ac
- Normal storage
- 27,091 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 56,422 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 44 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- HOUSTON COUNTY WCID 1
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID TX03268 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Houston County Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Other.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit TX-0813_01 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Houston County
Frequently asked questions about Houston County Lake
Where is Houston County Lake?
- Houston County Lake is a lake in Houston County, Texas. Its water-quality measurements are published by TCEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Houston County Lake?
- Houston County Lake in Houston County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 30 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 19.3 µg/L. Surface area: 1282 acres.
Is Houston County Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Houston County Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Houston County Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Houston County Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 39 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 1282 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Houston County Lake?
- Houston County Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include County Boat, Beaver Run, Sawmill Road, Crockett Family Resort. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Houston County Lake?
- Houston County Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Texas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Houston County Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
48 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2026. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
TCEQMAIN48 samples · 2020–2026
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