Enders Lake: Mapping of Water Conditions

During the mid 1990's, the a group of lakes and wetlands southwest of Ainsworth, Nebraska were experiencing rises in surface water.  The lake of most concern was Enders Lake.  Local residents, as well as the Brown County Supervisors, contacted various government agencies for technical and financial assistance.  High water conditions were flooding the county road and hay meadows.

Limited knowledge of the cause of high water lead to a stalemate on developing a solution.  To assist in making future decisions on water management in the area, the Sandhills Task Force contracted with the Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technology (CALMIT) at the University of Nebraska.  We requested CALMIT to use historic remotely sensed data in conjunction with Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify, record, and map changes in the areal extent of surface waters and wetlands with a 100 square mile area in Brown County.  The result of the information was provided to the Natural Resources Conservation Service for future use.

A total of nineteen lakes were in the study area.  Aerial photographs from five different time periods (1954, '86, '89, '91, and '92) were compared.  The analysis showed frequent changes in the wetland sizes.  For example, the area of open surface water on Enders Lake decreased by about 15 acres from 1986 to 1989.  From '89 to '91, it increased by 26.57 acres.  From '91 to '92, it increased another 33 acres.  Then from 1992 to 1993, it decreased 8 acres. 

Since the study was completed, the county has re-routed the road.  Drier weather has also caused the lake to return to normal levels.  Although aerial information was not available for the current year of the study and highest water levels, the compiling of information into a GIS format will serve as a baseline when high waters return.  

Funding for the project came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.