Lake Kirby
Taylor County, Texas780 acresView mapDirections
TCEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Kirby. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 10 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Kirby in Taylor County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 0.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 125 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 124 µg/L. Surface area: 780 acres.
Lake Kirby is a 780-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Taylor County, Texas with an estimated average depth of about 10 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TCEQ, last sampled 2025-11-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Lake Kirby is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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 Kirby 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 Kirby
These are the measurements TCEQ publishes for Lake Kirby, 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 0.7 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 125 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 124 µg/L. TSI 78.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 0.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 125µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 124µg/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. | 78 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Lake Kirby
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Lake Kirby water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~10 ft est.
Surface area
780 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 Kirby.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
47 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,768 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
- Kirby LakePublic
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 Kirby
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lake Kirby in Taylor 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 Kirby are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lake Kirby
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Lake Kirby
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+22 µg/L/yr6 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+7.29 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Kirby is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Kirby Dam (completed 1928), built primarily for irrigation on the Cedar Creek; earth-type dam, 50 ft tall and 4,200 ft long.
- Surface area
- 780 ac
- Normal storage
- 7,620 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 15,922 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 47.2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- CITY OF ABILENE
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID TX02703 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Taylor County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Kirby
Where is Lake Kirby?
- Lake Kirby is a lake in Taylor County, Texas. Its water-quality measurements are published by TCEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Kirby?
- Lake Kirby in Taylor County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 0.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 125 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 124 µg/L. Surface area: 780 acres.
Is Lake Kirby safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake Kirby?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake Kirby, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 10 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 780 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake Kirby?
- Lake Kirby has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Kirby Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake Kirby?
- Lake Kirby has 1 documented boat landing 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
56 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
TCEQMAIN56 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