Willow Creek Reservoir
Pierce County, Nebraska715 acresView mapDirections
Nebraska DEE publishes the water-quality measurements for Willow Creek Reservoir. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 24 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Willow Creek Reservoir in Pierce County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 78.4 µg/L. Surface area: 715 acres.
Willow Creek Reservoir is a 715-acre lake in Pierce County, Nebraska with an estimated average depth of about 24 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 3 public boat landings.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NDEE, last sampled 2013-09-09. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Willow Creek Reservoir is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch3 documented ramps
- Camping1 public campground nearby
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Willow Creek Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Willow Creek 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 Willow Creek Reservoir
These are the measurements Nebraska DEE publishes for Willow Creek 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 1.3 ft of visibility. Chlorophyll-a 78.4 µg/L. TSI 73.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.3ft | 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) | 78.4µg/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. | 73 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Willow Creek Reservoir
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~24 ft est.
Surface area
715 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 Willow Creek Reservoir.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
210 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
6.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,614 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
- Willow Creek State Recreation Area - SouthPublic
- Willow Creek State Recreation Area - NorthPublic
- Willow Creek State Recreation Area - WestPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Willow Creek Reservoir
- Willow Creek State Recreation Area0.7 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
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Stays near Willow Creek Reservoir
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Fishing Willow Creek Reservoir
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2012–2013). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+122.5 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Willow Creek Reservoir is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Willow Creek Dam (completed 1983), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Willow Creek; earth-type dam, 80 ft tall and 2,930 ft long.
- Surface area
- 715 ac
- Normal storage
- 6,838 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 30,300 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 210 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NE02134 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Willow Creek 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, Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NE-EL3-L0010 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Pierce County
Frequently asked questions about Willow Creek Reservoir
Where is Willow Creek Reservoir?
- Willow Creek Reservoir is a lake in Pierce County, Nebraska. Its water-quality measurements are published by Nebraska DEE and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Willow Creek Reservoir?
- Willow Creek Reservoir in Pierce County, Nebraska has water-quality measurements published by Nebraska DEE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 78.4 µg/L. Surface area: 715 acres.
Is Willow Creek Reservoir safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Willow Creek Reservoir is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Willow Creek Reservoir?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Willow Creek Reservoir, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 24 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 715 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Willow Creek Reservoir?
- Willow Creek Reservoir has 3 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Willow Creek State Recreation Area - South, Willow Creek State Recreation Area - North, Willow Creek State Recreation Area - West. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Willow Creek Reservoir?
- Willow Creek Reservoir has 3 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 Willow Creek Reservoir?
- Willow Creek Reservoir has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Willow Creek 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.
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Where this data comes from
10 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2012–2013. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
21NEB001_WQX10 samples · 2012–2013
Analytical methods
- 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
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
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