Maskenthine Reservoir
Stanton County, Nebraska94 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Maskenthine Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- 18 ft max depth
- Public access
Maskenthine Reservoir in Stanton County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 151 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 62.9 µg/L. Surface area: 94 acres.
Maskenthine Reservoir is a 94-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Stanton County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 18 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2022-09-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Maskenthine Reservoir covers about 94 acres in Stanton County. Vrbo is where to look for cabins and lake homes around Maskenthine Reservoir, and Booking.com and Expedia search hotels near the lake for your dates.
What Maskenthine Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Camping1 public campground nearby
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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Maskenthine 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 Maskenthine Reservoir
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Maskenthine 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 2.1 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 151 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 62.9 µg/L. TSI 71.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 151µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 62.9µg/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. | 71 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Maskenthine Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~18 ft est.
Surface area
94 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 Maskenthine Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
10 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,532 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
Public campgrounds near Maskenthine Reservoir
- Maskenthine Lake Recreation Area Campground0.1 km
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Maskenthine Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Maskenthine Reservoir in Stanton 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 Maskenthine Reservoir are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Maskenthine Reservoir
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Maskenthine Reservoir
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2012–2022).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+13.06 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Stable+0.29 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Maskenthine Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Maskenthine Dam (completed 1976), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Maskenthine Creek; earth-type dam, 53 ft tall and 1,605 ft long.
- Surface area
- 94 ac
- Normal storage
- 928 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 3,862 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 9.4 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE00682 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Stanton County
Frequently asked questions about Maskenthine Reservoir
Where is Maskenthine Reservoir?
- Maskenthine Reservoir is a lake in Stanton County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Maskenthine Reservoir?
- Maskenthine Reservoir in Stanton County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 151 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 62.9 µg/L. Surface area: 94 acres.
Is Maskenthine Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Maskenthine Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Maskenthine Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 18 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 94 acres.
Can I fish at Maskenthine Reservoir?
- Public access to Maskenthine Reservoir is listed as yes on the lake record. 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.
Are there campgrounds on Maskenthine Reservoir?
- Maskenthine Reservoir has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Maskenthine Lake Recreation Area Campground. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
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Where this data comes from
68 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2012–2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX68 samples · 2012–2022
Analytical methods
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles