Tuttle Creek Lake
Riley County, Kansas13,350 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Tuttle Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 197 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Tuttle Creek Lake in Riley County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 370 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 21.5 µg/L. Surface area: 13350 acres.
Tuttle Creek Lake is a 13,350-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Riley County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 197 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2018-06-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
At about 13,000 acres, Tuttle Creek Lake is large enough that where you stay decides which shore you see most of. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Tuttle Creek Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Tuttle Creek Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Camping1 public campground nearby
- Big water13,350 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. Tuttle Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pesticides, sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Tuttle Creek 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 Tuttle Creek Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Tuttle Creek 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 2.9 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 370 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 21.5 µg/L. TSI 71.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 370µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 21.5µg/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. | 71 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Tuttle Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Tuttle Creek Lake water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~197 ft est.
Surface area
13,350 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 Tuttle Creek Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
9,541 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
51.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,073 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
- Tuttle Creek-Canoe DockPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Tuttle Creek Lake
- Tuttle Creek Cove3.6 kmReserve
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Tuttle Creek Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Tuttle Creek Lake in Riley 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 Tuttle Creek Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Tuttle Creek 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 Tuttle Creek Lake → · more Kansas lake trips
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Fishing Tuttle Creek Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2012–2018). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Improving3 years
Phosphorus
Stable0 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-1.23 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Tuttle Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Tuttle Creek Dam (completed 1960), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Big Blue River; rockfill-type dam, 157 ft tall and 7,500 ft long.
- Surface area
- 13,350 ac
- Normal storage
- 335,100 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,257,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 9,628 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- USACE - Kansas City District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other;Navigation;Fish and Wildlife Pond;Recreation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00012 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Tuttle Creek 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-LM021001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Riley County
Frequently asked questions about Tuttle Creek Lake
Where is Tuttle Creek Lake?
- Tuttle Creek Lake is a lake in Riley County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Tuttle Creek Lake?
- Tuttle Creek Lake in Riley County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 370 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 21.5 µg/L. Surface area: 13350 acres.
Is Tuttle Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Tuttle Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pesticides, sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Tuttle Creek Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Tuttle Creek Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 197 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 13350 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Tuttle Creek Lake?
- Tuttle Creek Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Tuttle Creek-Canoe Dock. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Tuttle Creek Lake?
- Tuttle Creek 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.
Are there campgrounds on Tuttle Creek Lake?
- Tuttle Creek Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Tuttle Creek Cove. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Tuttle Creek Lake across LakeQuality
Depth, room, public access, and the state wake-sport rules
Species activity outlook by water temperature and season
Where to stay at Kansas's top lakes, each with its readings
Kansas's cleanest lakes, ranked on agency measurements
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Eutrophic Lakes in Kansas
Where this data comes from
14 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2018. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Kansas Department Of Health And Environment
21KAN001_WQX14 samples · 2012–2018
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
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles