Wes Watkins Reservoir
Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma1,142 acresView mapDirections
Oklahoma DEQ publishes the water-quality measurements for Wes Watkins Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 48 ft max depth
- Public access
Wes Watkins Reservoir in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 32 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18.2 µg/L. Surface area: 1142 acres.
Wes Watkins Reservoir is a 1,142-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma with an estimated average depth of about 48 feet. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Pottawatomie County, Wes Watkins Reservoir ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, ODEQ, last sampled 2024-09-18. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Wes Watkins Reservoir covers about 1,100 acres in Pottawatomie County. It has 2 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Wes Watkins Reservoir, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Wes Watkins Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
- Big water1,142 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Wes Watkins Reservoir 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 Wes Watkins Reservoir
These are the measurements Oklahoma DEQ publishes for Wes Watkins Reservoir, 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 32 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 18.2 µg/L. TSI 61.
| 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 | 32µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 18.2µg/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 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Wes Watkins Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
→ Wes Watkins Reservoir water level: the live USGS gauge reading
Lake Details
Max depth
~48 ft est.
Surface area
1,142 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Oklahoma DEQ
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Oklahoma has not published bathymetry for Wes Watkins Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
39 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,079 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
- Lake Wes Watkins 1Public
- Lake Wes Watkins 2Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Wes Watkins Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Wes Watkins Reservoir in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma — 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 Wes Watkins Reservoir are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Wes Watkins Reservoir
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 Wes Watkins Reservoir → · more Oklahoma lake trips
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Fishing Wes Watkins Reservoir
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 12 years of monitoring (2013–2024).
Water clarity
Improving3 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.02 µg/L/yr12 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable-0.23 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Wes Watkins Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the SCS-North Deer Creek Site-1m (completed 1994), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the N Canadian River; earth-type dam, 54 ft tall and 3,055 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,142 ac
- Normal storage
- 14,065 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 40,735 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 38.5 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- POTTAWATOMIE CO DEVELOP AUTH
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID OK22226 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Pottawatomie County
Frequently asked questions about Wes Watkins Reservoir
Where is Wes Watkins Reservoir?
- Wes Watkins Reservoir is a lake in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. Its water-quality measurements are published by Oklahoma DEQ and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Wes Watkins Reservoir?
- Wes Watkins Reservoir in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma has water-quality measurements published by Oklahoma DEQ, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 32 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 18.2 µg/L. Surface area: 1142 acres.
Is Wes Watkins Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Wes Watkins Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Wes Watkins Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 48 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 1142 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Wes Watkins Reservoir?
- Wes Watkins Reservoir has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Wes Watkins 1, Lake Wes Watkins 2. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Wes Watkins Reservoir?
- Wes Watkins Reservoir has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Oklahoma's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Wes Watkins Reservoir across LakeQuality
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Other Lakes in Oklahoma
Eutrophic Lakes in Oklahoma
Where this data comes from
1,332 measurements from 6 monitoring stations, 2012–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma (Tribal)
CPNWATER1,296 samples · 2012–2024 - OWRB Lakes Monitoring
OKWRB-LAKES_WQX36 samples · 2016–2023
Analytical methods
- OWRB Lakes Field Data Collection
- Determination of Turbidity
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- Nitrate-Nitrite Nitrogen by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
Monitoring station identifiers (6)
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory