Summit Lake
Burt County, Nebraska193 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Summit Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 30 ft max depth
- Public access
Summit Lake in Burt County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 104 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 37.7 µg/L. Surface area: 193 acres.
Summit Lake is a 193-acre highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Burt County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 30 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2024-09-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Summit Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Camping2 public campgrounds 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. Summit Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Summit 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 Summit Lake
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Summit 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 2.6 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 104 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 37.7 µg/L. TSI 67.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 104µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 37.7µg/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. | 67 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Summit Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~30 ft est.
Surface area
193 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 Summit Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
6 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.2 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,152 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
- Summit LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Summit Lake
- Eckdahl Campground0.7 km
- Muskrat Campground0.9 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 Summit Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Summit Lake in Burt 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 Summit Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Summit 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.
Planning a trip? Cabins and lodging at Summit Lake → · more Nebraska lake trips
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Fishing Summit Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 9 years of monitoring (2012–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening9 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+19.53 µg/L/yr2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Improving-6.24 µg/L/yr9 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Summit Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Tekamah-Mud Creek 5-A (completed 1980), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Tr-Tekamah Creek; earth-type dam, 76 ft tall and 1,400 ft long.
- Surface area
- 193 ac
- Normal storage
- 2,616 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,861 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 9.7 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Papio Missouri River Natural Resources District
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE01690 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.52 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Summit 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-L0150 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Burt County
Frequently asked questions about Summit Lake
Where is Summit Lake?
- Summit Lake is a lake in Burt County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Summit Lake?
- Summit Lake in Burt County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 104 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 37.7 µg/L. Surface area: 193 acres.
Is Summit Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Summit Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Summit Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Summit Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 30 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 193 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Summit Lake?
- Summit Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Summit Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Summit Lake?
- Summit 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 Summit Lake?
- Summit Lake has 2 public campgrounds from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Eckdahl Campground, Muskrat 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 Summit Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
109 measurements from 2 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_WQX109 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 (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