Carter Lake is a former channel of the Missouri River and was formed by flooding of the Missouri River in the summer of 1877. The city of Carter Lake, Iowa takes its name from the lake and there is an interesting background story to this lake located near the Omaha Airport.
In 1930, Carter Lake was incorporated as a city in the state of Iowa, a status it has retained ever since but there has been lots of fighting over it. Carter Lakes Colorful History states that "Carter Lake was once called Cut-Off Island - a fitting name for a place torn between two cities and two states, yet connected to neither." Iowa and Nebraska constantly battled for the city named Carter Lake and it's water feature born of a change of course of the Missouri River.
The ensuing legal battle over whether Iowa or Nebraska had jurisdiction over Cut-Off Island went to the Supreme Court. In a 1892 ruling, the court sided with Iowa on the basis that state lines remain the same when a river avulsed, or dramatically altered, its path in 1877. Therefore, the land had never left Iowa, despite its position on the Nebraska side of the river. It is weird driving through the area, as you are in Nebraska one minute and Iowa the very next.
Carter Lake has not escaped water pollution problems and in 2005, the lake had reached a crisis level. Due to a number of factors, the lake water level was both dangerously low and polluted with toxic algae. Placed on Nebraska's Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters for elevated concentrations of nutrients, the lake was no longer a place for recreation and beauty, but a haven for floating contaminants.
Interested citizens formed the "Carter Lake Environmental Assessment and Rehabilitation Council," and a community based watershed plan was organized to help improve the water quality. Now Carter Lake is a recreational hub for the area. The park is a great place to launch a boat for water sports and fishing, and also has baseball and football fields, basketball courts, and areas for picnics and larger gatherings. It is a beautiful gem of a lake and worth 5 YELP STARS. read more