Memphis Lake
Saunders County, Nebraska88 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Memphis Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- 39 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Memphis Lake in Saunders County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 62.6 µg/L. Surface area: 88 acres.
Memphis Lake is a 88-acre lake in Saunders County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 39 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 2015-09-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Memphis Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Camping1 public campground nearby
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Memphis Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Memphis 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 Memphis Lake
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Memphis 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 1.5 ft of visibility. Chlorophyll-a 62.6 µg/L. TSI 71.
| 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) | 62.6µg/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. | 71 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Memphis Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~39 ft est.
Surface area
88 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 Memphis Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,089 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
- Memphis Lake State Recreation AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Memphis Lake
- Memphis State Recreation Area0.6 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 Memphis Lake
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Fishing Memphis Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Memphis Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Memphis Dam (completed 1897), built primarily for recreation on the Silver Creek; earth-type dam, 12 ft tall and 4,500 ft long.
- Surface area
- 88 ac
- Normal storage
- 94.2 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 288.8 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 1.41 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE00252 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Memphis 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-L0010 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Saunders County
Frequently asked questions about Memphis Lake
Where is Memphis Lake?
- Memphis Lake is a lake in Saunders County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Memphis Lake?
- Memphis Lake in Saunders County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 62.6 µg/L. Surface area: 88 acres.
Is Memphis Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Memphis Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Memphis Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Memphis Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 39 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 88 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Memphis Lake?
- Memphis Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Memphis Lake State Recreation Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Memphis Lake?
- Memphis 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.
Are there campgrounds on Memphis Lake?
- Memphis Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Memphis State Recreation Area. 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.
Explore Memphis Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
10 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2015. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX10 samples · 2015
Analytical methods
- 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
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
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles