Jeffrey Reservoir
Lincoln County, Nebraska5,756 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Jeffrey Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 64 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Jeffrey Reservoir in Lincoln County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 25.3 µg/L. Surface area: 5756 acres.
Jeffrey Reservoir is a 5,756-acre lake in Lincoln County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 64 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.
What Jeffrey Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Big water5,756 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Jeffrey Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Jeffrey 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 Jeffrey Reservoir
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Jeffrey Reservoir, 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. Chlorophyll-a 25.3 µg/L. TSI 67.
| 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 | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 25.3µg/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. | 67 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Jeffrey Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~64 ft est.
Surface area
5,756 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 Jeffrey Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
15 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
9.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,769 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
- Jeffrey Wildlife Management AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
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Stays near Jeffrey Reservoir
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Fishing Jeffrey Reservoir
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Jeffrey Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Jeffrey Dam (completed 1941), built primarily for irrigation; earth-type dam, 90 ft tall and 1,034 ft long.
- Surface area
- 5,756 ac
- Normal storage
- 5,237 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,937 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 13.6 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Central Nebraska Public Power & Irrigation District
All listed purposes: Irrigation;Hydroelectric;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE01036 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Jeffrey 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-L0710 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Lincoln County
Frequently asked questions about Jeffrey Reservoir
Where is Jeffrey Reservoir?
- Jeffrey Reservoir is a lake in Lincoln County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Jeffrey Reservoir?
- Jeffrey Reservoir in Lincoln County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 25.3 µg/L. Surface area: 5756 acres.
Is Jeffrey Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Jeffrey Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Jeffrey Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Jeffrey Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 64 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 5756 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Jeffrey Reservoir?
- Jeffrey Reservoir has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Jeffrey Wildlife Management Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Jeffrey Reservoir?
- Jeffrey 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.
Explore Jeffrey Reservoir across LakeQuality
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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