Toronto Lake
Woodson County, Kansas2,660 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Toronto Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 52 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Toronto Lake in Woodson County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 130 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17.5 µg/L. Surface area: 2660 acres.
Toronto Lake is a 2,660-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Woodson County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 52 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 5 public boat landings. Compared to the 2 other monitored lakes in Woodson County, Toronto Lake ranks #3 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2016-08-02. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Toronto Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch5 documented ramps
- Big water2,660 acres
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. Toronto Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Toronto 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 Toronto Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Toronto 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 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 130 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 17.5 µg/L. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 130µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 17.5µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 70 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Toronto Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~52 ft est.
Surface area
2,660 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 Toronto Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
740 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
22.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
909 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
- Toronto-EastPublic
- Toronto-BeachPublic
- Toronto-NorthPublic
- Toronto-MiddlePublic
- Toronto-SouthPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Toronto Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Toronto Lake in Woodson 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 Toronto Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Toronto Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Toronto Lake → · more Kansas lake trips
Follow Toronto Lake’s readings
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Fishing Toronto Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2014–2016). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+18 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-8.3 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Toronto Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Toronto Dam (completed 1960), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Verdigris River; gravity-type dam, 90 ft tall and 4,712 ft long.
- Surface area
- 2,660 ac
- Normal storage
- 21,000 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 318,900 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 730 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Tulsa District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00011 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Toronto 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-LM024001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Woodson County
Frequently asked questions about Toronto Lake
Where is Toronto Lake?
- Toronto Lake is a lake in Woodson County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Toronto Lake?
- Toronto Lake in Woodson County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 130 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 17.5 µg/L. Surface area: 2660 acres.
Is Toronto Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Toronto Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Toronto Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Toronto Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 52 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 2660 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Toronto Lake?
- Toronto Lake has 5 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Toronto-East, Toronto-Beach, Toronto-North, Toronto-Middle, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Toronto Lake?
- Toronto Lake has 5 documented boat landings 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 Toronto Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX11 samples · 2014–2016
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