Nebraska DEE

Focus On Water Division

2015 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 2015 recreational season

	Lake Name	Lake #	County	Last Updated	Current algae	Health Alert?	E.coli Bacteria
Current Lake(s) on Health Alert
	Pawnee Lake	34a	Lancaster	10/1/15	>35	Yes	4
	Pawnee Lake	34b	Lancaster	9/17/15	24.64	Yes	3
	Rockford Lake	36	Gage	10/1/15	21.28	Yes	1
	Swan Creek Lake # 5A	39	Saline	10/1/15	>35	Yes	3
	Willow Creek Lake	45	Pierce	10/1/15	18.42	Yes	210
High E.coli Bacteria Levels
	Lewis and Clark Reservoir	23	Knox	10/1/15	0	No	1300
Other Lakes Sampled
	Bader Park Swimming Lake	1	Merrick	10/1/15	0	No	0
	Big Indian Creek Lake	2	Gage	10/1/15	1.27	No	6
	Bluestem Lake	3	Lancaster	10/1/15	0	No	21
	Box Butte Lake	4	Dawes	9/24/15	0	No	2
	Branched Oak Lake	5a	Lancaster	10/1/15	1.29	No	12
	Branched Oak Lake	5b	Lancaster	10/1/15	0.71	No	12
	Bridgeport Middle Lake	6	Morril	10/1/15	0	No	2
	Calamus Lake	7	Garfield	10/1/15	0	No	14
	Carter Lake	8	Douglas	10/1/15	0	No	8
	Conestoga Lake	9	Lancaster	10/1/15	0.32	No	3
	Cottonwood Lake (Yankton)	10	Cedar	10/1/15	0	No	16
	Cub Creek Lake # 12A	11	Jefferson	10/1/15	0	No	9
	Cunningham Lake	12	Douglas	10/1/15	0	No	17
	Davis Creek Lake	13	Sherman	10/1/15	0	No	3
	Enders Lake at East Beach	14	Chase	10/1/15	0	No	0
	Fremont Lake # 10	15	Dodge	10/1/15	0	No	6
	Fremont Lake # 20	16a	Dodge	10/1/15	0	No	11
	Fremont Lake # 20	16b	Dodge	10/1/15	0.21	No	10
	Fremont Lake # 9	17	Dodge	10/1/15	1.3	No	6
	Ft. Kearney Lake No. 7	50	Buffalo	10/1/15	0	No	27
	Harlan Lake	18	Harlan	10/1/15	0.22	No	4
	Holmes Lake	19	Lancaster	10/1/15	0.66	No	14
	Iron Horse Trail Lake	47	Pawnee County	10/1/15	5.13	No	0
	Johnson Lake	20	Gosper	10/1/15	0	No	231
	Kirkman's Cove	21	Richardson	10/1/15	4.89	No	1
	Lake North	22	Platte	10/1/15	0	No	186
	Lone Star Lake	24	Fillmore	10/1/15	0.33	No	0
	Louisville Lake SRA No. 2	25	Cass	10/1/15	0.42	No	17
	Maloney Lake	26	Lincoln	10/1/15	0.37	No	9
	Maple Creek Recreation Area Lake	49	Colfax	10/1/15	6.69	No	11
	Maskenthine Lake	27	Stanton	10/1/15	0.37	No	11
	McConaughy Lake	28	Keith	10/1/15	0.33	No	5
	Medicine Creek Lake	29	Frontier	10/1/15	0	No	10
	Merritt Reservoir	30	Cherry	10/1/15	1.17	No	17
	Minatare Lake	31	Scotts Bluff	10/1/15	1.47	No	8
	Mormon Island Lake	32	Hall	10/1/15	1.6	No	4
	Oliver Lake	33	Kimball	10/1/15	0.2	No	6
	Red Willow Lake	35	Frontier	10/1/15	0	No	8
	Sherman Lake	37	Sherman	10/1/15	0	No	12
	Sutherland Lake	38	Lincoln	10/1/15	0	No	11
	Swanson Lake	40	Hitchcock	10/1/15	0	No	2
	Two Rivers SRA Lake No. 4	41	Douglas	10/1/15	0	No	9
	Valentine Mill Pond	42	Cherry	10/1/15	0	No	107
	Victory Lake	43	Dodge	10/1/15	0	No	7
	Wagon Train Lake	44	Lancaster	10/1/15	0.27	No	20
	Windmill Lake No. 5	51	Buffalo	10/1/15	0	No	3
	Wirth Brothers Lake	46	Johnson	10/1/15	0	No	1

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

Beach Watch Listserv Subscribe Instructions

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Example: Subscribe DEQ-BeachWatch John Smith.

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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