Webster Lake
Rooks County, Kansas11,493 acresView mapDirections
KDHE publishes the water-quality measurements for Webster Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 77 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Webster Lake in Rooks County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 33 µg/L. Surface area: 11493 acres.
Webster Lake is a 11,493-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Rooks County, Kansas with an estimated average depth of about 77 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 4 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, KDHE, last sampled 2018-08-13. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Webster Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch4 documented ramps
- Big water11,493 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. Webster Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), salinity / chlorides, sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Webster 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 Webster Lake
These are the measurements KDHE publishes for Webster 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 3.2 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 33 µg/L. TSI 61.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 40µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 33µg/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. | 61 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Webster Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~77 ft est.
Surface area
11,493 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 Webster Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1,166 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
15.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,900 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
- Webster-Rock PointPublic
- Webster-Goose FlatPublic
- Webster-Old MarinaPublic
- Webster-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 Webster Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Webster Lake in Rooks 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 Webster Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Webster Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Webster Lake → · more Kansas lake trips
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Fishing Webster 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
Worsening3 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+2 µg/L/yr3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+8.02 µg/L/yr3 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Webster Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Webster Dam (completed 1956), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the South Fork Solomon River; earth-type dam, 154 ft tall and 10,720 ft long.
- Surface area
- 11,493 ac
- Normal storage
- 77,371 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 400,422 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1,150 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Irrigation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID KS00025 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Webster Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
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-LM012001 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Rooks County
Frequently asked questions about Webster Lake
Where is Webster Lake?
- Webster Lake is a lake in Rooks County, Kansas. Its water-quality measurements are published by KDHE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Webster Lake?
- Webster Lake in Rooks County, Kansas has water-quality measurements published by KDHE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 40 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 33 µg/L. Surface area: 11493 acres.
Is Webster Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Webster Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), salinity / chlorides, sediment / turbidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Webster Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Webster Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 77 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 11493 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Webster Lake?
- Webster Lake has 4 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Webster-Rock Point, Webster-Goose Flat, Webster-Old Marina, Webster-South. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Webster Lake?
- Webster Lake has 4 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 Webster Lake across LakeQuality
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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