Merritt Reservoir
Cherry County, Nebraska3,222 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Merritt Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 100 ft max depth
- Public access
Merritt Reservoir in Cherry County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 147 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 92.1 µg/L. Surface area: 3222 acres.
Merritt Reservoir is a 3,222-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Cherry County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 100 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 5 public boat landings. Compared to the 4 other monitored lakes in Cherry County, Merritt Reservoir ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2024-09-24. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Merritt Reservoir covers about 3,200 acres in Cherry County. It has 5 public boat landings, so a lakefront rental is not the only way to get a boat on the water. If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Merritt Reservoir on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
What Merritt Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch5 documented ramps
- Camping8 public campgrounds nearby
- Big water3,222 acres
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. Merritt Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Merritt 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 Merritt Reservoir
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Merritt 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 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 147 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 92.1 µg/L. TSI 73.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 147µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 92.1µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 73 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Merritt Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~100 ft est.
Surface area
3,222 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 Merritt Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
583 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
30.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
2,943 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
- Beeds LandingPublic
- Cedar BayPublic
- Main RampPublic
- PowderhornPublic
- SnakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Merritt Reservoir
- Lone Tree Campground1.0 km
- Willow Cove Campground1.1 km
- Cottonwood Campground1.3 km
- Pines Campground2.2 km
- Cedar Bay Campground2.7 km
- Beed's Landing Campground3.0 km
- Snake River Campground3.2 km
- Boardman Creek Campground4.2 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 Merritt Reservoir
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Merritt Reservoir in Cherry 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Merritt Reservoir
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Fishing Merritt Reservoir
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 13 years of monitoring (2012–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening13 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+6.98 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+1.96 µg/L/yr12 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Merritt Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Merritt Dam (completed 1964), built primarily for irrigation on the Snake River; earth-type dam, 126 ft tall and 3,222 ft long.
- Surface area
- 3,222 ac
- Normal storage
- 74,486 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 78,375 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 485.07 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE01074 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Merritt 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-NI3-L0330 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Cherry County
Frequently asked questions about Merritt Reservoir
Where is Merritt Reservoir?
- Merritt Reservoir is a lake in Cherry County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Merritt Reservoir?
- Merritt Reservoir in Cherry County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 147 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 92.1 µg/L. Surface area: 3222 acres.
Is Merritt Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Merritt Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Merritt Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Merritt Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 100 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 3222 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Merritt Reservoir?
- Merritt Reservoir has 5 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Beeds Landing, Cedar Bay, Main Ramp, Powderhorn, among others. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Merritt Reservoir?
- Merritt Reservoir has 5 documented boat landings 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 Merritt Reservoir?
- Merritt Reservoir has 8 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Lone Tree Campground, Willow Cove Campground, Cottonwood Campground, Pines 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.
Explore Merritt Reservoir across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
172 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2012–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX172 samples · 2012–2024
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 (3)
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