Lake Kirby
Taylor County, Texas780 acresView mapDirections
Nutrients and algae run well above the regional average.
- Hypereutrophic
- #1 of 1 in the county
- 10 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake Kirby in Taylor County, Texas has a water quality grade of F (Algae-prone). Water clarity: 0.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 125 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 124 µg/L. Surface area: 780 acres.
- Clarity
- 0.7 ft
- Max depth
- ~10 ft est.
- Area
- 780 acres
- Type
- Hypereutrophic
- Phosphorus
- 125 µg/L
- Chlorophyll-a
- 124 µg/L
- Trend
- ↓ Declining
- Public access
- Yes
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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 grade measures nutrients and algae, not lodging — cabins and rentals around Lake Kirby are listed below.
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Watch Lake Kirby’s letter
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Lake Kirby is a 780-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Taylor County, Texas with an estimated average depth of about 10 feet. Water quality is graded F based on 2 sampling years through 2025. 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. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Lake Kirby is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming Safety
Grade onlyLimited data
Based on clarity and algae grades from past sampling — we do not hold live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
The F is nutrients and algae, not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Water Quality Grade: F (Algae-prone)
Very murky, less than 0.7 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 125 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 124 µg/L. TSI 78. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
| Metric | Value | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 0.7 ft | Not graded |
| Phosphorus | 125 µg/L | Poor |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 124 µg/L | Poor |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 78 | Hypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Current Conditions
USGS snapshot Sep 7, 2026, 3:30 PM from gauge 08083460 (Kirby Lk at Abilene, TX). Station page ↗ — a live reading replaces this snapshot when the gauge responds. Missing live data is not an all-clear.
→ Lake Kirby water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum Depth | ~10 ft est. |
| Average Depth | ~7 ft est. |
| Surface Area | 780 acres |
| Public Access | Yes |
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
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
Fishing Lake Kirby
Water Quality Trend: ↓ Declining
Based on 6 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).
| Metric | Trend | Change/Year | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | ↓ Declining | -0.046 m/yr | 6 |
| Phosphorus | ↓ Declining | +22 µg/L/yr | 6 |
| Chlorophyll-a | ↓ Declining | +7.29 µg/L/yr | 6 |
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
County Ranking
Ranked #1 of 1 lakes in Taylor County
Nearby Lakes in Taylor County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Kirby
Where is Lake Kirby?
- Lake Kirby is a lake in Taylor County, Texas. LakeQuality grades it F for nutrients and algae. The letter is not a swimming clearance.
What is the water quality grade for Lake Kirby?
- Lake Kirby in Taylor County, Texas has a water quality grade of F (Algae-prone). 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?
- The F is nutrients and algae, 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.
What is the water level at Lake Kirby?
- The USGS snapshot on this page for Lake Kirby is 1782.17 ft of water-surface elevation, recorded Sep 7, 2026, 3:30 PM at gauge 08083460. Current Conditions hydrates a live NWIS reading from that same station when the gauge responds. A missed live fetch is not an all-clear.
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.
Explore Lake Kirby across LakeQuality
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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)
Grade thresholds from the EPA National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See how grades are calculated 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