Cub Creek Lake
Keya Paha County, Nebraska31 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Cub Creek Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
Cub Creek Lake in Keya Paha County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 48.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.4 µg/L. Surface area: 31 acres.
Cub Creek Lake is a 31-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Keya Paha County, Nebraska. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2021-09-27. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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. Cub Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Cub Creek 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 Cub Creek Lake
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Cub Creek Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 4.9 ft. Phosphorus 48.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 8.4 µg/L. TSI 55.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 48.1µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 8.4µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Cub Creek Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
31 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Cub Creek Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Cub Creek Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2014–2021). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Stable3 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+2 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Cub Creek Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Cub Creek Dam (completed 1977), built primarily for recreation on the Cub Creek; earth-type dam, 59 ft tall and 1,950 ft long.
- Surface area
- 31 ac
- Normal storage
- 339 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,749 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 5.2 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- Middle Niobrara Natural Resources District
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE01630 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Cub Creek 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.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NE-NI3-L0070 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Keya Paha County
Frequently asked questions about Cub Creek Lake
Where is Cub Creek Lake?
- Cub Creek Lake is a lake in Keya Paha County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Cub Creek Lake?
- Cub Creek Lake in Keya Paha County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 48.1 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 8.4 µg/L. Surface area: 31 acres.
Is Cub Creek Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Cub Creek Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Cub Creek Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
37 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX37 samples · 2014–2021
Analytical methods
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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