Tenkiller Ferry Lake
Sequoyah County, Oklahoma12,900 acresView mapDirections
Oklahoma DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Tenkiller Ferry Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
- Limited data
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Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Tenkiller Ferry Lake in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility. Surface area: 12900 acres.
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Tenkiller Ferry Lake is a 12,900-acre lake in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 6 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ODEQ, last sampled 2017-07-25. Grade methodology: LakeQuality methodology.
What Tenkiller Ferry Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch6 documented ramps
- Big water12,900 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Tenkiller Ferry Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Tenkiller Ferry Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Tenkiller Ferry Lake
These are the measurements Oklahoma DEQ publishes for Tenkiller Ferry Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 3.5 ft. TSI 59.
| Metric | Value | EPA condition class |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity (Secchi Depth) | 3.5 ft | Measured, not scored |
| Phosphorus | No recent samples | |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No recent samples | |
| Trophic State Index (TSI) | 59 | Eutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Lake Details
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Surface Area | 12,900 acres |
| Public Access | Yes |
No bathymetric survey has been published for Tenkiller Ferry Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Brewers BendPublic
- Gore LandingPublic
- Summers ParkPublic
- Webbers Falls City ParkPublic
- Fishermans PointPublic
- Hickory Flats at Tenkiller State ParkPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Fishing Tenkiller Ferry Lake
Water Quality Trend: ↑ Improving
Based on 4 years of monitoring data (2020-2025).
| Metric | Trend | Change/Year | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | ↑ Improving | +24.837 m/yr | 4 |
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Tenkiller Ferry Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Tenkiller Ferry Dam (completed 1952), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Illinois River; gravity-type dam, 197 ft tall and 4,940 ft long.
- Surface area
- 12,900 ac
- Normal storage
- 654,100 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,230,800 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1,610 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Tulsa District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Hydroelectric.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID OK10311 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Tenkiller Ferry Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit OK121700020020_00 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Sequoyah County
Frequently asked questions about Tenkiller Ferry Lake
Where is Tenkiller Ferry Lake?
- Tenkiller Ferry Lake is a lake in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. Its water-quality measurements are published by Oklahoma DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Tenkiller Ferry Lake?
- Tenkiller Ferry Lake in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility. Surface area: 12900 acres.
Is Tenkiller Ferry Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Tenkiller Ferry Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Tenkiller Ferry Lake?
- Tenkiller Ferry Lake has 6 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Brewers Bend, Gore Landing, Summers Park, Webbers Falls City Park, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
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Where this data comes from
7 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2017. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS7 samples · 2017
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory