Big Indian Lake
Gage County, Nebraska17 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Big Indian Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 39 ft max depth
- Public access
Big Indian Lake in Gage County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 255 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 42.1 µg/L. Surface area: 17 acres.
Big Indian Lake is a 17-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Gage County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 39 feet. Phosphorus level is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 1 other monitored lakes in Gage County, Big Indian Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2024-09-03. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Big Indian Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Camping1 public campground nearby
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyAlgae risk
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Big Indian Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Big Indian Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Big Indian Lake
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Big Indian Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 255 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 42.1 µg/L. TSI 74.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 255µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 42.1µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 74 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Big Indian Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~39 ft est.
Surface area
17 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Nebraska DEE
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Nebraska has not published bathymetry for Big Indian Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
5 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,296 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Big Indian Recreation AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Big Indian Lake
- Big Indian Recreation Area Campground0.5 km
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Big Indian Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Big Indian Lake in Gage County, Nebraska — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Big Indian Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Big Indian Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Big Indian Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2013–2024).
Water clarity
Stable5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-8.85 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+7.34 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Big Indian Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Big Indian Creek 11-A (completed 1972), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Squaw Creek; earth-type dam, 52 ft tall and 1,210 ft long.
- Surface area
- 17 ac
- Normal storage
- 662 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,366 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 5.3 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Lower Big Blue Natural Resources District
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE01011 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.28 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Big Indian Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NE-BB1-L0030 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Gage County
Frequently asked questions about Big Indian Lake
Where is Big Indian Lake?
- Big Indian Lake is a lake in Gage County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Big Indian Lake?
- Big Indian Lake in Gage County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 255 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 42.1 µg/L. Surface area: 17 acres.
Is Big Indian Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Big Indian Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Big Indian Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Big Indian Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 39 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 17 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Big Indian Lake?
- Big Indian Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Big Indian Recreation Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Big Indian Lake?
- Big Indian Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Nebraska's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Big Indian Lake?
- Big Indian Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Big Indian Recreation Area Campground. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Big Indian Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
60 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2013–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX60 samples · 2013–2024
Analytical methods
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles