Are you planning a day at the lake?  Did you know you can check on the water quality before you head out?

Water quality is monitored at 54 public recreational lakes each week from May through September. Samples are analyzed for E. coli  and Harmful Algal Blooms.  If the samples exceed the thresholds for E. coli or Harmful Algal Blooms, a lake is put under Health Alert.  Signs will be posted recommending people avoid full body contact activities such as swimming, wading, skiing, jet skiing, etc. Non-contact activities such as boating, fishing, and camping are OK. 

The results from this weekly sampling is available online at the NDEQ website.  You can also subscribe to a listserve and get an email each time the results are posted.  To subscribe to the listserv, send an email to listserv@listserv.nebraska.gov with SUBSCRIBE DEQ-BeachWatch (your name) - in the body of the message (leave the Subject line blank). Example: Subscribe DEQ-BeachWatch John Smith. You will receive an email requesting you to confirm your request. When you confirm by clicking the link, you will be added to the listserv.