Elwood Reservoir
Gosper County, Nebraska1,145 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Elwood Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 96 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Elwood Reservoir in Gosper County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3 µg/L. Surface area: 1145 acres.
Elwood Reservoir is a 1,145-acre lake in Gosper County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 96 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2013-09-18. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Elwood Reservoir covers about 1,100 acres in Gosper County. It has one public boat landing. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Elwood Reservoir, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Elwood Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water10 ft of visibility
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water1,145 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Elwood Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Elwood Reservoir 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 Elwood Reservoir
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Elwood Reservoir, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft. Chlorophyll-a 3 µg/L. TSI 43.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 10ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 3µg/L | Measured, not scored The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 43 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Elwood Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~96 ft est.
Surface area
1,145 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 Elwood Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
8 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
13.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,595 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
- Elwood Wildlife Management AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Elwood Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Elwood Reservoir in Gosper 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Elwood Reservoir
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Fishing Elwood Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Elwood Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Elwood Dam (completed 1976), built primarily for irrigation on the Tr-Plum Creek; earth-type dam, 118 ft tall and 3,980 ft long.
- Surface area
- 1,145 ac
- Normal storage
- 37,956 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 45,950 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 6.76 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Central Nebraska Public Power & Irrigation District
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE01680 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Elwood Reservoir 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-MP2-L0540 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Gosper County
Frequently asked questions about Elwood Reservoir
Where is Elwood Reservoir?
- Elwood Reservoir is a lake in Gosper County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Elwood Reservoir?
- Elwood Reservoir in Gosper County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 3 µg/L. Surface area: 1145 acres.
Is Elwood Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Elwood Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Elwood Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Elwood Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 96 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 1145 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Elwood Reservoir?
- Elwood Reservoir has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Elwood Wildlife Management Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Elwood Reservoir?
- Elwood Reservoir 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.
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Where this data comes from
10 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2013. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX10 samples · 2013
Analytical methods
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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