2011 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. 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 2011 recreational season

	Lake Name	Lake # -	- County	- Last Updated	- Microcystin (ppb)	- E.coli Bacteria
Current Lake(s) on Health Alert
	Merritt Reservoir	30	Cherry	09/29/2011	45.0	36
	Rockford Lake	36	Gage	09/29/2011	24	2
High E.coli Bacteria Levels
	Wirth Brothers Lake	46	Johnson	09/22/2011	0.01	517
Other Lakes Sampled
	Bader Park Swimming Lake	1	Merrick	09/29/2011	0	0
	Bluestem Lake	3	Lancaster	09/29/2011	.32	2
	Box Butte Lake	4	Dawes	09/29/2011	1.71	1
	Branched Oak Lake	5a	Lancaster	09/29/2011	0.90	16
	Branched Oak Lake	5b	Lancaster	09/29/2011	0.75	30
	Bridgeport Middle Lake	6	Morril	09/29/2011	0.01	5
	Calamus Lake	7	Garfield	09/22/2011	2.0	2
	Carter Lake	8	Douglas	09/29/2011	0.07	2
	Conestoga Lake	9	Lancaster	09/29/2011	0.29	1
	Cottonwood Lake (Yankton)	10	Cedar	09/29/2011	0	2
	Cub Creek Lake # 12A	11	Jefferson	09/29/2011	0.02	56
	Cunningham Lake	12	Douglas	09/29/2011	.3	4
	Davis Creek Lake	13	Sherman	09/22/2011	0.14	0
	Enders Lake at East Beach	14	Chase	09/29/2011	2.08	1
	Fremont Lake # 10	15	Dodge	09/29/2011	0.03	4
	Fremont Lake # 20	16a	Dodge	09/29/2011	0.02	4
	Fremont Lake # 20	16b	Dodge	09/29/2011	0.00	1
	Fremont Lake # 9	17	Dodge	09/29/2011	1.68	1
	Harlan Lake	18	Harlan	09/29/2011	0.12	18.9
	Holmes Lake	19	Lancaster	09/29/2011	2.56	3
	Iron Horse Trail Lake	47	Pawnee County	07/28/2011	No Samples	1
	Johnson Lake	20	Gosper	09/29/2011	0.36	10
	Kirkman's Cove	21	Richardson	09/22/2011	0.20	4
	Lake North	22	Platte	09/29/2011	0.07	1
	Lewis and Clark Reservoir	23	Knox	09/29/2011	0	10
	Lone Star Lake	24	Fillmore	09/29/2011	3.86	2
	Louisville Lake SRA No. 2	25	Cass	09/29/2011	0.14	7
	Maloney Lake	26	Lincoln	09/29/2011	0.1	1
	Maple Creek Recreation Area Lake	49	Colfax	09/22/2011	0.24	3
	Maskenthine Lake	27	Stanton	09/22/2011	0.50	16
	McConaughy Lake	28	Keith	09/29/2011	0.58	1
	Medicine Creek Lake	29	Frontier	09/29/2011	0	5
	Minatare Lake	31	Scotts Bluff	09/29/2011	0.03	119
	Mormon Island Lake	32	Hall	09/29/2011	0	6
	Oliver Lake	33	Kimball	09/29/2011	0.01	33
	Pawnee Lake	34a	Lancaster	09/29/2011	0.22	9
	Pawnee Lake	34b	Lancaster	09/29/2011	0.32	9
	Red Willow Lake	35	Frontier	09/29/2011	0.06	12
	Sherman Lake	37	Sherman	09/22/2011	0.07	13
	Sutherland Lake	38	Lincoln	09/29/2011	0.18	7
	Swan Creek Lake # 5A	39	Saline	09/29/2011	3.12	4
	Swanson Lake	40	Hitchcock	09/29/2011	0.02	1
	Two Rivers SRA Lake No. 4	41	Douglas	09/29/2011	0.03	10
	Valentine Mill Pond	42	Cherry	09/29/2011	0	9
	Victory Lake	43	Dodge	09/29/2011	0	1
	Wagon Train Lake	44	Lancaster	09/29/2011	0	1
	Willow Creek Lake	45	Pierce	09/22/2011	3.27	2

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

The links below will take you to the sampling results taken during the recreational seasons ( May through September) for 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007.

Updated information regarding 2011 toxic blue-green algae and bacteria sampling will be posted on the page staring May 5, 2011

2010 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2009 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2008 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results

2007 Bacteria and Toxic Algae Monitoring: Weekly Results