Hedgefield Lake
Lancaster County, Nebraska44 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Hedgefield Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
Hedgefield Lake in Lancaster County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 679.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 46.9 µg/L. Surface area: 44 acres.
Hedgefield Lake is a 44-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Lancaster County, Nebraska. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 12 other monitored lakes in Lancaster County, Hedgefield Lake ranks #12 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2021-09-20. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Hedgefield Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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. Hedgefield Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hedgefield 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 Hedgefield Lake
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Hedgefield 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 1.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 679.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 46.9 µg/L. TSI 79.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 680µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 46.9µg/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. | 79 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Hedgefield Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
44 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Nebraska DEE
No bathymetric survey has been published for Hedgefield Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- HedgefieldPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Hedgefield Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hedgefield Lake in Lancaster 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 Hedgefield Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Hedgefield Lake
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Fishing Hedgefield Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2015–2021). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Stable2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+7.38 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hedgefield Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Upper Salt Creek 10-A (completed 1963), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Tr-Salt Creek; earth-type dam, 44 ft tall and 1,101 ft long.
- Surface area
- 44 ac
- Normal storage
- 190 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 1,689 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.3 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Lower Platte South Natural Resources District
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE00533 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.22 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Hedgefield 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-LP2-L0020 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Lancaster County
Frequently asked questions about Hedgefield Lake
Where is Hedgefield Lake?
- Hedgefield Lake is a lake in Lancaster County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hedgefield Lake?
- Hedgefield Lake in Lancaster County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 679.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 46.9 µg/L. Surface area: 44 acres.
Is Hedgefield Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hedgefield Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Hedgefield Lake?
- Hedgefield Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Hedgefield. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Hedgefield Lake?
- Hedgefield 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.
Explore Hedgefield Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
30 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2015–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX30 samples · 2015–2021
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory