Lake North
Platte County, Nebraska961 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake North. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 43 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Lake North in Platte County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 29.9 µg/L. Surface area: 961 acres.
Lake North is a 961-acre lake in Platte County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 43 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 2013-09-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Lake North is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake North is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Lake North 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 Lake North
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Lake North, 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 1.3 ft of visibility. Chlorophyll-a 29.9 µg/L. TSI 68.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.3ft | 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) | 29.9µg/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. | 68 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Lake North
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~43 ft est.
Surface area
961 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 Lake North.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
5 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.5 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,526 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
- Lake NorthPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Lake North
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Fishing Lake North
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake North is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake North (completed 1937), built primarily for hydroelectric on the Loup & Canal; earth-type dam, 27 ft tall.
- Surface area
- 961 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,351 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 4,351 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Loup River Public Power District
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE01053 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Lake North 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-LP1-L0440 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Platte County
Frequently asked questions about Lake North
Where is Lake North?
- Lake North is a lake in Platte County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake North?
- Lake North in Platte County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 29.9 µg/L. Surface area: 961 acres.
Is Lake North safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Lake North is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Lake North?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Lake North, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 43 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 961 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Lake North?
- Lake North has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake North. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Lake North?
- Lake North 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 1 monitoring station, 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 (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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory