2008 Toxic Blue-green Algae
and Bacteria Sampling Results

NDEQ conducts weekly or bi-weekly sampling for toxic blue-green algae and bacteria at a number of public recreational lakes across Nebraska from May through September, and these results are updated weekly. Samples are typically collected on Monday and posted on the web site on Thursday or Friday.

At the top of the table below is a list of all Current Lake(s) on Health Alert for toxic blue-green algae. Lakes that have been placed on Health Alert must subsequently have two consecutive weeks of low readings before the alert is ended.
Click here for more information about Health Alerts and toxic algae.

The next category, High E. Coli Bacteria Readings, lists lakes that showed unusually high readings of bacteria in the most recent sampling, which can also be a health concern.
* Bacteria figures preceded by an asterisk indicate that the five-sample average is considered higher risk for illness through inadvertent ingestion during recreational activities.
Click here for more information about bacteria and its potential health effects.

The last category, Other Lakes Sampled, lists the results for lakes which are not under Health Alert for toxic algae, and their most recent sample results for bacteria are considered low.

Click on any lake name on the table below to view a chart of that lake’s sample results for toxic algae (Microcystins) and E.coli bacteria for the 2008 recreational season

	Lake Name	Lake # -	- County	- Last Updated	- Microcystin (ppb)	- E.coli Bacteria
Current Lake(s) on Health Alert
	Pawnee Reservoir	34	Lancaster	10/02/2008	12.87	488
	Pawnee Reservoir	34a	Lancaster	10/02/2008	12.76	44
	Swan Creek #5A	40	Saline	10/02/2008	21.78	91
	Willow Creek Reservoir	46	Pierce	10/02/2008	45.43	228
High E.coli Bacteria Levels
	Big Indian Creek Reservoir	2	Gage	10/02/2008	0	1120
	Branched Oak Reservoir	5	Lancaster	10/02/2008	1.69	1785
	Cub Creek #12A	10	Jefferson	10/02/2008	0	6488
	Johnson Lake	19	Gosper	10/02/2008	0.24	517
	Johnson Lake	19a	Gosper	10/02/2008	0.07	411
	Lake McConaughy	21	Keith	10/02/2008	0.11	816
Other Lakes Sampled
	Bader Park Lake #2	1	Merrick	10/02/2008	0.01	1
	Bluestem Reservoir	3	Lancaster	10/02/2008	0.03	81
	Box Butte Reservoir	4	Dawes	10/02/2008	0	20
	Branched Oak Reservoir	5a	Lancaster	10/02/2008	0.86	44
	Bridgeport Middle Lake	6	Morrill	10/02/2008	0	1
	Calamus Reservoir	7	Garfield	10/06/2008	0.05	42
	Carter Lake	8	Douglas	10/02/2008	0.95	79
	Conestoga Reservoir	9	Lancaster	10/02/2008	3.07	2
	Enders Reservoir	11	Chase	09/25/2008	.1	.1
	Fremont Lake #10	12	Dodge	10/02/2008	0.09	8
	Fremont Lake #20	13	Dodge	10/02/2008	0.06	4
	Fremont Lake #20	13a	Dodge	10/02/2008	0.27	4
	Fremont Lake #9	14	Dodge	10/02/2008	0.15	0
	Glenn Cunningham	15	Douglas		No Samples	No Samples
	Harlan Reservoir	16	Harlan	10/02/2008	0.09	9
	Holmes Lake	17	Lancaster	10/02/2008	3.72	28
	Iron Horse Trail Lake	18	Pawnee	09/25/2008	2.77	1
	Kirkman’s Cove Reservoir	20	Richardson	09/25/2008	12.65	36
	Lake North	22	Platte	10/02/2008	0.01	6
	Lake Yankton	23	Cedar	10/01/2008	0	20
	Lewis & Clark Reservoir	24	Knox	10/01/2008	0	146
	Lone Star Reservoir	25	Fillmore	10/02/2008	0.02	7
	Louisville Lake #2	26	Cass	10/02/2008	0.14	2
	Maloney Reservoir	27	Lincoln	10/02/2008	0.1	10
	Maskenthine Reservoir	28	Stanton	10/02/2008	0.12	28
	Medicine Creek Reservoir	29	Frontier	10/02/2008	0.04	9
	Merritt Reservoir	30	Cherry	10/02/2008	8.25	6
	Minatare Lake	31	Scotts Bluff	10/02/2008	.01	10
	Mormon Island Lake	32	Hall	10/02/2008	0	2
	Oliver Reservoir	33	Kimball	09/11/2008	0	22
	Red Willow Reservoir	35	Frontier	10/02/2008	0.28	1
	Rockford Reservoir	36	Gage	10/02/2008	4.87	2
	Sherman Reservoir	37	Sherman	10/06/2008	0	32
	Silver Creek City Pond	38	Merrick		No Samples	No Samples
	Sutherland Reservoir	39	Lincoln	10/02/2008	0.06	12
	Swanson Reservoir	41	Hitchcock	10/02/2008	0.01	1
	Two Rivers SRA Lake #4	42	Douglas	10/02/2008	0.06	31
	Valentine Mill Pond	43	Cherry	10/02/2008	0	35
	Victory Lake	44	Dodge	10/02/2008	0.09	2
	Wagon Train Lake	45	Lancaster	10/02/2008	0.08	7
	Wirth Brothers Lake	47	Johnson	09/25/2008	.02	4

* Bacteria figures preceded by an asterisk indicate that the five-sample average is considered higher risk for illness through inadvertent ingestion during recreational activities.

The map below shows the locations of the lakes referred to in the table above