Lone Star Lake
Douglas County, Kansas195 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Lone Star Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 37 ft max depth
- Limited data
Lone Star Lake in Douglas County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 32.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 28.5 µg/L. Surface area: 194.7 acres.
Lone Star Lake is a 195-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Douglas County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 37 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 3 other monitored lakes in Douglas County, Lone Star Lake ranks #4 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2017-08-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Lone Star Lake covers about 190 acres in Douglas County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Lone Star Lake, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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. Lone Star Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lone Star Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Lone Star Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Lone Star 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 3.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 32.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 28.5 µg/L. TSI 60.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 32.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 28.5µg/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. | 60 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lone Star Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~37 ft est.
Surface area
195 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Lone Star Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
10 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4.3 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
958 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.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lone Star Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Lone Star Lake in Douglas County, Kansas — 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 Lone Star Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Lone Star Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Lone Star Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2013–2017). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.75 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+2 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lone Star Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lone Star Lake (completed 1939), built primarily for recreation on the Washington Creek; concrete-type dam, 71 ft tall and 1,700 ft long.
- Surface area
- 194.7 ac
- Normal storage
- 3,957 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,600 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 5.38 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- DOUGLAS COUNTY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS02540 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lone Star Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit KS-LM011401 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Douglas County
Frequently asked questions about Lone Star Lake
Where is Lone Star Lake?
- Lone Star Lake is a lake in Douglas County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lone Star Lake?
- Lone Star Lake in Douglas County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 32.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 28.5 µg/L. Surface area: 194.7 acres.
Is Lone Star Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lone Star Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lone Star Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lone Star Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 37 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 194.7 acres.
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Where this data comes from
10 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2013–2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX10 samples · 2013–2017
Analytical methods
- Depth, Secchi disk depth
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
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)