Nebraska DEE

Focus On Water Division

2011 Toxic Blue-green Algae
and Bacteria Sampling Results

NDEE 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. Samples above 20 ppb microcystin are placed on alert.

For more information about health alerts and what to look for, go to
Precautions and Facts Regarding Toxic Algae at Nebraska Lakes.

For more information about the history of toxic algae sampling in Nebraska, go to
Cyanobacteria: The Nebraska Experience

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. Samples above 235 counts/ 100 ml water are considered high.

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 2014 recreational season

	Lake Name	Lake #	County	Last Updated	Current algae	Health Alert?	E.coli Bacteria
Current Lake(s) on Health Alert
	Merritt Reservoir	30	Cherry	9/29/11	45.0	Yes	36
	Rockford Lake	36	Gage	9/29/11	24	Yes	2
High E.coli Bacteria Levels
	Wirth Brothers Lake	46	Johnson	9/22/11	0.01	No	517
Other Lakes Sampled
	Bader Park Swimming Lake	1	Merrick	9/29/11	0	No	0
	Bluestem Lake	3	Lancaster	9/29/11	.32	No	2
	Box Butte Lake	4	Dawes	9/29/11	1.71	No	1
	Branched Oak Lake	5a	Lancaster	9/29/11	0.90	No	16
	Branched Oak Lake	5b	Lancaster	9/29/11	0.75	No	30
	Bridgeport Middle Lake	6	Morril	9/29/11	0.01	No	5
	Calamus Lake	7	Garfield	9/22/11	2.0	No	2
	Carter Lake	8	Douglas	9/29/11	0.07	No	2
	Conestoga Lake	9	Lancaster	9/29/11	0.29	No	1
	Cottonwood Lake (Yankton)	10	Cedar	9/29/11	0	No	2
	Cub Creek Lake # 12A	11	Jefferson	9/29/11	0.02	No	56
	Cunningham Lake	12	Douglas	9/29/11	.3	No	4
	Davis Creek Lake	13	Sherman	9/22/11	0.14	No	0
	Enders Lake at East Beach	14	Chase	9/29/11	2.08	No	1
	Fremont Lake # 10	15	Dodge	9/29/11	0.03	No	4
	Fremont Lake # 20	16a	Dodge	9/29/11	0.02	No	4
	Fremont Lake # 20	16b	Dodge	9/29/11	0.00	No	1
	Fremont Lake # 9	17	Dodge	9/29/11	1.68	No	1
	Harlan Lake	18	Harlan	9/29/11	0.12	No	18.9
	Holmes Lake	19	Lancaster	9/29/11	2.56	No	3
	Iron Horse Trail Lake	47	Pawnee County	7/28/11	No Samples	No	1
	Johnson Lake	20	Gosper	9/29/11	0.36	No	10
	Kirkman's Cove	21	Richardson	9/22/11	0.20	No	4
	Lake North	22	Platte	9/29/11	0.07	No	1
	Lewis and Clark Reservoir	23	Knox	9/29/11	0	No	10
	Lone Star Lake	24	Fillmore	9/29/11	3.86	No	2
	Louisville Lake SRA No. 2	25	Cass	9/29/11	0.14	No	7
	Maloney Lake	26	Lincoln	9/29/11	0.1	No	1
	Maple Creek Recreation Area Lake	49	Colfax	9/22/11	0.24	No	3
	Maskenthine Lake	27	Stanton	9/22/11	0.50	No	16
	McConaughy Lake	28	Keith	9/29/11	0.58	No	1
	Medicine Creek Lake	29	Frontier	9/29/11	0	No	5
	Minatare Lake	31	Scotts Bluff	9/29/11	0.03	No	119
	Mormon Island Lake	32	Hall	9/29/11	0	No	6
	Oliver Lake	33	Kimball	9/29/11	0.01	No	33
	Pawnee Lake	34a	Lancaster	9/29/11	0.22	No	9
	Pawnee Lake	34b	Lancaster	9/29/11	0.32	No	9
	Red Willow Lake	35	Frontier	9/29/11	0.06	No	12
	Sherman Lake	37	Sherman	9/22/11	0.07	No	13
	Sutherland Lake	38	Lincoln	9/29/11	0.18	No	7
	Swan Creek Lake # 5A	39	Saline	9/29/11	3.12	No	4
	Swanson Lake	40	Hitchcock	9/29/11	0.02	No	1
	Two Rivers SRA Lake No. 4	41	Douglas	9/29/11	0.03	No	10
	Valentine Mill Pond	42	Cherry	9/29/11	0	No	9
	Victory Lake	43	Dodge	9/29/11	0	No	1
	Wagon Train Lake	44	Lancaster	9/29/11	0	No	1
	Willow Creek Lake	45	Pierce	9/22/11	3.27	No	2

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

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The links below will take you to the sampling results taken during the recreational seasons ( May through September) for 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and2011.

2018 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2017 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2016 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2015 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2014 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2013 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2012 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2011 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results