Livingston Reservoir
Polk County, TexasView mapDirections
TCEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Livingston Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 181 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Livingston Reservoir in Polk County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 140 µg/L.
Livingston Reservoir is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Polk County, Texas with an estimated average depth of about 181 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 15 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, TCEQ, last sampled 2023-10-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Livingston Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch15 documented ramps
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 Livingston Reservoir 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 Livingston Reservoir
These are the measurements TCEQ publishes for Livingston Reservoir, 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 1.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 140 µg/L. TSI 73.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 140µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| 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. | 73 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Livingston Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~181 ft est.
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 Livingston Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
16,632 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
54,259 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
71.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
138 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
- Point BlankPublic
- Wolf Creek ParkPublic
- Lake Livingston Dam Tailwaters (West)Public
- BlanchardPublic
- Tigerville ParkPublic
- Lake Livingston State ParkPublic
Showing 6 of 15 documented landings from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory.
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Livingston Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Livingston Reservoir in Polk 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 Livingston Reservoir are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Livingston Reservoir
Prices for Oct 23–25, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Livingston Reservoir
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Frequently asked questions about Livingston Reservoir
Where is Livingston Reservoir?
- Livingston Reservoir is a lake in Polk County, Texas. Its water-quality measurements are published by TCEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Livingston Reservoir?
- Livingston Reservoir in Polk County, Texas has water-quality measurements published by TCEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 140 µg/L.
Is Livingston Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Livingston Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Livingston Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 181 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Livingston Reservoir?
- Livingston Reservoir has 15 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Point Blank, Wolf Creek Park, Lake Livingston Dam Tailwaters (West), Blanchard, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Livingston Reservoir?
- Livingston Reservoir has 15 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
70 measurements from 9 monitoring stations, 2020–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- USGS Texas Water Science Center
USGS-TX70 samples · 2020–2023
Monitoring station identifiers (9)
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