Lake Fort Phantom Hill
Jones County, Texas4,246 acresView mapDirections
TCEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Fort Phantom Hill. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 72 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Fort Phantom Hill in Jones County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 27.6 µg/L. Surface area: 4246 acres.
Lake Fort Phantom Hill is a 4,246-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Jones County, Texas with an estimated average depth of about 72 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TCEQ, last sampled 2025-08-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lake Fort Phantom Hill covers about 4,200 acres in Jones County. It has 3 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Lake Fort Phantom Hill on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Lake Fort Phantom Hill is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 documented ramps
- Big water4,246 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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake Fort Phantom Hill 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 Lake Fort Phantom Hill
These are the measurements TCEQ publishes for Lake Fort Phantom Hill, 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 2.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 27.6 µg/L. TSI 63.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 60µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 27.6µg/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. | 63 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake Fort Phantom Hill
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~72 ft est.
Surface area
4,246 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 Lake Fort Phantom Hill.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
470 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
12.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,624 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 Fort Phantom Hill ParkPublic
- Abilene Sailing AssociationPublic
- Abilene Lakeview RV ParkPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake Fort Phantom Hill
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Fort Phantom Hill in Jones County, Texas — 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 Lake Fort Phantom Hill are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Fort Phantom Hill
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
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Fishing Lake Fort Phantom Hill
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-2.8 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+3.51 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Fort Phantom Hill is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Fort Phantom Hill Dam (completed 1938), built primarily for water supply on the Big Elm Creek; earth-type dam, 84 ft tall and 3,740 ft long.
- Surface area
- 4,246 ac
- Normal storage
- 70,300 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 136,076 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 481 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF ABILENE
All listed purposes: Water Supply;Other.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID TX02483 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Jones County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Fort Phantom Hill
Where is Lake Fort Phantom Hill?
- Lake Fort Phantom Hill is a lake in Jones County, Texas. Its water-quality measurements are published by TCEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Fort Phantom Hill?
- Lake Fort Phantom Hill in Jones County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 60 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 27.6 µg/L. Surface area: 4246 acres.
Is Lake Fort Phantom Hill safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Fort Phantom Hill?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Fort Phantom Hill, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 72 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 4246 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Fort Phantom Hill?
- Lake Fort Phantom Hill has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Fort Phantom Hill Park, Abilene Sailing Association, Abilene Lakeview RV Park. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Fort Phantom Hill?
- Lake Fort Phantom Hill has 3 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.
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Where this data comes from
53 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
TCEQMAIN53 samples · 2020–2025
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory