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Reservoirs in Oklahoma

118 of 319 measured Oklahoma lakes (37%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 93 carry a High or Significant hazard rating.

Reading the Oklahoma reservoir landscape

Oklahoma hosts 118 man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams — a dense reservoir landscape that reflects significant federal, state, and utility-led impoundment construction over the 20th century. Reservoir lakes behave differently than natural lakes: water levels are managed for the dam's primary purpose, residence time depends on inflow and release schedules, and depth profiles follow the original river-valley topography rather than the bowl shape of glacial lakes.

Water supply leads the purpose mix for Oklahoma's reservoirs — these are municipal or industrial water-storage lakes where the dam exists primarily to maintain reliable downstream-or-pipeline water delivery. Recreation use is often allowed but secondary to the water-supply mission; expect higher water-quality standards (treated water frequently sourced from these reservoirs) but sometimes restricted boat access, motor limits, or shoreline-development bans to protect the supply.

The USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID) catalogs every dam in the United States above a size threshold — typically 25 feet in height or 50 acre-feet in maximum storage, plus all dams classified as high-hazard regardless of size. The reservoir records below pull NID fields (year built, hazard class, maximum storage, surface area at normal pool, dam length, primary purpose) and pair them with water-quality data where the impoundment also appears in EPA's lake-monitoring inventory.

Why these Oklahoma reservoirs were built

Water Supply

Flood Risk Reduction

Recreation

Fish and Wildlife Pond

Hydroelectric

Other

Irrigation

118

Total reservoirs

315,613

Total surface acres

6,500,338

Normal storage (ac-ft)

High or Significant hazard

All 118 Oklahoma reservoirs (by surface area)

Reservoir	County	Surface area	Year built	Purpose	Hazard
Broken Bow Lake	McCurtain	20,500 ac	1968	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Fort Gibson Lake	Wagoner	19,900 ac	1949	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Kaw Lake	Kay	16,750 ac	1976	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Sandy Beach Lake	Osage	16,750 ac	1976	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Sardis Lake	Pushmataha	13,610 ac	1982	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Mcgee Creek Reservoir	Atoka	13,524 ac	1987	Water Supply	High
Hugo Lake	Choctaw	13,144 ac	1974	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Foss Reservoir	Custer	13,141 ac	1961	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Tenkiller Ferry Lake	Sequoyah	12,900 ac	1952	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Hudson	Mayes	11,000 ac	1964	Hydroelectric	High
Skiatook Lake	Osage	10,540 ac	1984	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Waurika Lake	Jefferson	10,100 ac	1977	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Tom Steed Reservoir	Kiowa	9,600 ac	1975	Water Supply	High
Great Salt Plains Lake	Alfalfa	8,690 ac	1941	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Canton Lake	Blaine	7,910 ac	1948	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Wister Lake	Le Flore	6,745 ac	1949	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Altus Reservoir	Greer	6,260 ac	1944	Irrigation	High
Lake Thunderbird	Cleveland	6,070 ac	1964	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Fort Cobb Reservoir	Caddo	5,882 ac	1959	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Murray	Carter	5,728 ac	1937	Recreation	Low
Sooner Reservoir	Pawnee	5,400 ac	1972	Other	Significant
Lake Ellsworth	Comanche	5,220 ac	1961	Water Supply	High
Atoka Lake	Atoka	4,980 ac	1957	Water Supply	High
Copan Lake	Washington	4,850 ac	1983	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Pine Creek Lake	McCurtain	3,750 ac	1969	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Hulah Lake	Osage	3,570 ac	1951	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Carl Blackwell	Payne	3,370 ac	1937	Water Supply	High
Arbuckle Reservoir	Murray	3,127 ac	1966	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Hefner Lake	Oklahoma	3,110 ac	1943	Water Supply	High
Lake Stanley Draper	Cleveland	2,900 ac	1962	Water Supply	High
Eucha Lake	Delaware	2,860 ac	1952	Water Supply	High
Lake Lawtonka	Comanche	2,286 ac	1939	Water Supply	High
Fort Supply Lake	Woodward	1,820 ac	1942	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Arcadia Lake	Oklahoma	1,820 ac	1986	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Spavinaw Lake	Mayes	1,584 ac	1922	Water Supply	High
Lake Mcalester	Pittsburg	1,521 ac	1930	Water Supply	Low
Lake Overholser	Canadian	1,500 ac	1919	Water Supply	High
Fuqua Lake	Stephens	1,500 ac	1962	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Lake Konawa	Seminole	1,350 ac	1968	Other	Significant
Lake Ponca	Kay	1,159 ac	1935	Water Supply	High
Ponca Lake A	Kay	1,159 ac	1935	Water Supply	High
Lake Mcmurtry	Noble	1,155 ac	1971	Water Supply	High
Birch Lake	Osage	1,145 ac	1977	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Wes Watkins Reservoir	Pottawatomie	1,142 ac	1994	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Dripping Springs Lake	Okmulgee	1,055 ac	1972	Water Supply	High
Perry Lake	Noble	1,040 ac	1937	Water Supply	High
Humphreys Lake	Stephens	882 ac	1958	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Heyburn Lake	Creek	880 ac	1950	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Bluestem Lake	Osage	860 ac	1958	Recreation	High
Lake Chickasha	Caddo	820 ac	1958	Water Supply	High
Okemah Lake	Okfuskee	761 ac	1962	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Rc Longmire Lake	Garvin	745 ac	1989	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant
Wr Holway Lake	Mayes	742 ac	1968	Hydroelectric	High
Greenleaf Lake	Muskogee	739 ac	1935	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Significant
Clear Creek Lake	Stephens	722 ac	1948	Recreation	Low
Okmulgee Lake	Okmulgee	668 ac	1928	Water Supply	High
Stroud Lake	Creek	600 ac	1968	Water Supply	High
Sportsman Lake	Seminole	590 ac	1958	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Shell Lake	Osage	573 ac	1922	Water Supply	High
Brown Lake	Pittsburg	548 ac	1943	Water Supply	High
Pawnee Lake	Pawnee	530 ac	1932	Water Supply	High
Meeker Lake	Lincoln	520 ac	1970	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Duncan Lake	Stephens	500 ac	1937	Water Supply	Significant
Claremore Lake	Rogers	470 ac	1930	Water Supply	High
Lake Jean Neustadt	Carter	462 ac	1969	Water Supply	High
Coalgate City Lake	Coal	405.8 ac	1965	Water Supply	High
Wewoka Lake	Seminole	371 ac	1925	Water Supply	High
Healdton Lake	Carter	370 ac	1979	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant
Stilwell City Lake	Adair	365 ac	1965	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Brushy Creek Reservoir	Sequoyah	358 ac	1964	Water Supply	High
Rocky Lake	Washita	347 ac	1933	Water Supply	High
Lake Sahoma	Creek	344 ac	1947	Water Supply	High
Elmer Thomas Lake	Comanche	342 ac	1993	Fish and Wildlife Pond	High
Clinton Lake	Washita	335 ac	1931	Water Supply	High
Wiley Post Memorial Lake	McClain	302 ac	1971	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Langston Lake	Logan	295 ac	1969	Water Supply	High
Boomer Lake	Payne	275 ac	1932	Water Supply	High
Guthrie Lake	Logan	274 ac	1919	Water Supply	High
Hauani Lake	Marshall	270 ac	1980	Water Supply	Low
Lake Raymond Gary	Choctaw	263 ac	1956	Recreation	Low
Lloyd Church Lake	Latimer	260 ac	1964	Water Supply	High
Hudson Lake	Osage	259 ac	1949	Water Supply	High
New Spiro Lake	Le Flore	254 ac	1960	Water Supply	Low
Rock Creek Reservoir	Carter	248 ac	1979	Water Supply	High
Taylor Lake	Grady	227 ac	1960	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Mountain Lake	Carter	210 ac	1956	Water Supply	Significant
John Wells Lake	Haskell	194 ac	1936	Water Supply	Low
Chandler Lake	Lincoln	192 ac	1954	Water Supply	High
Carl Albert Lake	Latimer	183 ac	1964	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Dave Boyer Lake	Cotton	182 ac	1936	Water Supply	High
Wetumka Lake	Hughes	169 ac	1939	Water Supply	Low
Liberty Lake	Logan	167 ac	1948	Water Supply	High
Hominy Lake	Osage	165 ac	1956	Recreation	High
Cleveland City Lake	Pawnee	159 ac	1936	Water Supply	Significant
Lake Etling	Cimarron	159 ac	1958	Recreation	Low
Crowder Lake	Washita	158 ac	1959	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Ardmore City Lake	Carter	142 ac	1910	Water Supply	Low
Waxhoma Lake	Osage	140 ac	1955	Water Supply	High
Lake Nahni Waiya Tuskahomma	Pushmataha	131 ac	1958	Recreation	Low
Tecumseh Lake	Pottawatomie	127 ac	1934	Water Supply	High
Comanche Lake	Stephens	121 ac	1960	Water Supply	High
Lake Ozzie Cobb	Pushmataha	116 ac	1958	Recreation	Low
Fairfax Lake	Osage	111 ac	1936	Water Supply	High
Lake Pawhuska	Osage	103 ac	1936	Water Supply	High
Lake Wayne Wallace	Latimer	94 ac	1964	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Talawanda Lake	Pittsburg	91 ac	1902	Water Supply	Low
Cedar Lake	Le Flore	91 ac	1940	Recreation	High
Elmore City Lake	Garvin	69 ac	1962	Water Supply	High
Clayton Lake	Pushmataha	66 ac	1946	Recreation	High
Jap Beaver Lake	Jefferson	65 ac	1953	Recreation	Low
Elmer Lake	Kingfisher	60 ac	1962	Recreation	Low
Weleetka Lake	Okfuskee	59 ac	1923	Water Supply	High
Watonga Lake	Blaine	55 ac	1955	Recreation	Low
New Beggs Lake	Okmulgee	54 ac	1965	Water Supply	High
Hall Lake	Harmon	36 ac	1954	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Chelsea Reservoir	Rogers	22 ac	1950	Water Supply	Low
Lake Texoma	Johnston	15 ac	1950	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Ft. Cobb Lake	Caddo	13 ac	1971	Flood Risk Reduction	Low

Frequently Asked Questions

How many reservoirs are in Oklahoma?

118 of 319 measured Oklahoma lakes (37%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 93 are rated High or Significant hazard, meaning failure would put downstream lives or property at substantial risk. The oldest matched dam dates to 1902.

What's the largest reservoir in Oklahoma?

The largest matched reservoir in Oklahoma is Broken Bow Lake in McCurtain County at 20,500 acres of normal surface area, impounded by the Broken Bow Dam - Reregulation Dam (completed 1968).

What's the difference between a reservoir and a natural lake?

A reservoir is a body of water impounded by a man-made dam — typically built for flood control, hydroelectric power, water supply, irrigation, or recreation. A natural lake formed without human intervention, usually from glacial scouring, volcanic activity, or river meandering. Reservoirs typically have shoreline that fluctuates with seasonal water level management, while natural lakes have more stable shorelines. The USACE National Inventory of Dams classifies every regulated dam in the United States, which is how we identify which LakeQuality lakes are actually reservoirs.

What does the hazard class mean?

USACE assigns each dam a hazard potential classification based on what would happen downstream if the dam failed — NOT how likely the dam is to fail. "Low" hazard means dam failure would cause no probable loss of life and only low economic loss. "Significant" means probable loss of life is unlikely but appreciable economic damage would occur. "High" means probable loss of life and significant economic damage. The classification is about consequence, not condition. Many High-hazard dams are perfectly safe; they're rated High because populated areas have grown downstream over time.

Where does this reservoir data come from?

Every reservoir record on this page is matched to the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all dams ≥25 ft tall or impounding ≥50 acre-feet, plus any dam that poses a Significant or High hazard regardless of size. The NID is published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and updated annually. Surface area, storage capacity, dam height, and hazard classification come directly from NID records.

Where to stay near Oklahoma reservoirs

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More on reservoirs and water quality

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Why Lakes Turn Green: Phosphorus and Nutrient Pollution

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Data source

Reservoir data from the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all regulated dams. Dam attributes (height, year completed, storage capacity, hazard class) are matched to LakeQuality lakes by proximity and dam-name similarity. Some lakes may be reservoirs that aren't matched if the dam record uses a name substantially different from our lake name.