Prairie Queen Lake
Sarpy County, Nebraska125 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Prairie Queen Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Public access
Prairie Queen Lake in Sarpy County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 42.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 26.2 µg/L. Surface area: 125 acres.
Prairie Queen Lake is a 125-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Sarpy County, Nebraska. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 5 other monitored lakes in Sarpy County, Prairie Queen Lake ranks #1 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2023-09-12. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Prairie Queen Lake covers about 130 acres in Sarpy County. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Prairie Queen Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Prairie Queen Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
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. Prairie Queen Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Prairie Queen 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 Prairie Queen Lake
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Prairie Queen 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 3.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 42.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 26.2 µg/L. TSI 60.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 42.3µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 26.2µg/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. | 60 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Prairie Queen Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
125 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Nebraska DEE
No bathymetric survey has been published for Prairie Queen Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Prairie QueenPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Prairie Queen Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Prairie Queen Lake in Sarpy 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 Prairie Queen Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Prairie Queen Lake
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
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Fishing Prairie Queen Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 13 years of monitoring (2012–2024).
Water clarity
Improving13 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+3.04 µg/L/yr5 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-6.56 µg/L/yr12 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Prairie Queen Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Prairie Queen Main Dam (completed 2014), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Tr-South Papillion Creek; earth-type dam, 73 ft tall and 1,200 ft long.
- Surface area
- 125 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,700 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 5,060 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 5.19 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Papio Missouri River Natural Resources District
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Other.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE05082 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.27 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Prairie Queen 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-MT1-L0027 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Sarpy County
Frequently asked questions about Prairie Queen Lake
Where is Prairie Queen Lake?
- Prairie Queen Lake is a lake in Sarpy County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Prairie Queen Lake?
- Prairie Queen Lake in Sarpy County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 42.3 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 26.2 µg/L. Surface area: 125 acres.
Is Prairie Queen Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Prairie Queen Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Prairie Queen Lake?
- Prairie Queen Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Prairie Queen. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Prairie Queen Lake?
- Prairie Queen 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.
Explore Prairie Queen Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
33 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX33 samples · 2022–2023
Analytical methods
- Total Phosphorus After Block Digestion
- 447.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll a and b in phytoplankton by HPLC/UV
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory