The lake mapping program was developed as a cooperative initiative between the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to provide detailed survey information on Nebraska's lakes and reservoirs. Each year a list of proposed lakes and reservoirs is submitted by biologists across the state and reviewed by a committee to determine the lakes of highest priority. A number of factors are taken into consideration including Aquatic Habitat Projects, lake conditions, fish communities, and angler use. The overall goal of the program is to provide fisheries managers with detailed information to be used in management and monitoring of Nebraska's lakes. Detailed bathymetric lake maps are also produced and made available to the public on the NGPC web site.

Layer showing shoreline boundaries for selected lakes and reservoirs in Nebraska where bathymetric surveys were conducted. This feature class is mainly to show the waters' edge in the context of bathymetric lake mapping. The lake mapping program was developed as a cooperative initiative between the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to provide detailed survey information on Nebraska's lakes and reservoirs. Each year a list of proposed lakes and reservoirs is submitted by biologists across the state and reviewed by a committee to determine the lakes of highest priority. A number of factors are taken into consideration including Aquatic Habitat Projects, lake conditions, fish communities, and angler use. The overall goal of the program is to provide fisheries managers with detailed information to be used in management and monitoring of Nebraska's lakes. Detailed bathymetric lake maps are also produced and made available to the public on the NGPC web site.This shoreline data provides the outline of the lakes surveyed and contains information detailing when and where the survey was collected and how the bathymetric data was processed. The shoreline data is representative of the lakes that have been surveyed for bathymetric contours. Lakes that have not been surveyed are not part of this feature class, you may find the remaining waterbodies as well as these in the RecreationWaters dataset under PublicFishingAreas feature class.

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (CNPPD), conducted a study that used bathymetric and topographic surveying in conjunction with Geographical Information Systems techniques to determine the 2003 physical shape and storage capacity, as well as the change in storage capacity of Lake McConaughy that occurred over 62 years. By combining the bathymetric and topographic survey data, the 2003 surface area of Lake McConaughy was determined to be 30,413.0 acres, with a volume of 1,756,300 acre-feet at the lake conservation-pool elevation of 3,266.4 feet above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (3,265.0 feet above CNPPD datum). To determine the changes in storage of Lake McConaughy, the 2003 survey Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was compared to a preconstruction DEM compiled from historical contour maps. This comparison showed an increase in elevation at the dam site due to the installation of Kingsley Dam. Immediately to the west of the Kingsley Dam is an area of decline where a borrow pit for Kingsley Dam was excavated. The comparison of the preconstruction survey to the 2003 survey also was used to estimate the gross storage capacity reduction that occurred between 1941 and 2002. The results of this comparison indicate a gross storage capacity reduction of approximately 42,372 acre-feet, at the lake conservation-pool elevation of 3,266.4 feet in NAVD 88 (3,265.0 feet in CNPPD datum). By comparing preconstruction and 2003 survey data and subtracting the Kingsley Dam and borrow pit, the total estimated net volume of sediment deposited from 1941 to 2003 was 53,347,124 cubic yards, at an annual average rate of 860,437 cubic yards per year. The approximate decrease in the net storage capacity from 1941 to 2003 was 33,066 acre-feet, at an annual average decrease of approximately 533 acre-feet per year, which resulted in a 1.8 percent decrease in storage capacity of Lake McConaughy. The lake accumulated most of the sediment in the original river channel and in the west end of the delta area on the upstream end of the lake.

Feature layer generated from running the Join Features solution

This layer shows public lakes located across Nebraska where fishing is permitted. This was last updated February 2022.

Source EPA. The 303(d) Listed Impaired Waters program system provides impaired water data and impaired water features reflecting river segments, lakes, and estuaries designated under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. Each State will establish Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for these waters. Note the CWA Section 303(d) list of impaired waters does not represent waters that are impaired but have an EPA-approved TMDL established, impaired waters for which other pollution control mechanisms are in place and expected to attain water quality standards, or waters impaired as a result of pollution and is not caused by a pollutant. Therefore, the "Impaired Waters" layers do not represent all impaired waters reported in a state's Integrated Report, but only the waters comprised of a state's approved 303(d) list. For more information regarding impaired waters refer to EPA's Integrated Reporting Guidance at: https://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/tmdl/guidance.cfm. 303(d) waterbodies are coded onto NHDPlus v2.1 flowline and waterbody features to create line, area, and point events. In addition to NHDPlus reach indexed data there may also be custom event data (point, line, or polygon) that are not associated with NHDPlus and are in an EPA standard format that is compatible with EPA's Reach Address Database. These custom features are used to represent locations of 303(d) waterbodies that are not represented well in NHDPlus.

This data set is maintained by the Department of Environment and Energy.