Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake
Ottawa County, Kansas138 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Noxious aquatic plants
- 32 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake in Ottawa County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 305 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 28.5 µg/L. Surface area: 137.8 acres.
Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake is a 138-acre lake in Ottawa County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 32 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2014-09-02. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for noxious aquatic plants, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Ottawa Co State Fishing 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 Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Ottawa Co State Fishing 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 1.8 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 305 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 28.5 µg/L. TSI 73.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 305µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 28.5µg/L | Measured, not scored 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 Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~32 ft est.
Surface area
138 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by KDHE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Kansas has not published bathymetry for Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
21 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,299 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
- Ottawa State Fishing Lake-SouthPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Ottawa State Fishing Lake (completed 1927), built primarily for recreation on the Sand Creek; earth-type dam, 34 ft tall and 1,650 ft long.
- Surface area
- 137.8 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,067.5 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,883 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 20.95 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- KANSAS DEPT OF WILDLIFE PARKS & TOURISM
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00889 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.19 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Ottawa Co State Fishing 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-LM014101 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Ottawa County
Frequently asked questions about Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake
Where is Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake?
- Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake is a lake in Ottawa County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake?
- Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake in Ottawa County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 305 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 28.5 µg/L. Surface area: 137.8 acres.
Is Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for noxious aquatic plants, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 32 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 137.8 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake?
- Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Ottawa State Fishing Lake-South. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake?
- Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake 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 Kansas's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Ottawa Co State Fishing Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX5 samples · 2014
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)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory