Alachua-Alto Lake
Alachua County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Alachua-Alto Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
Alachua-Alto Lake in Alachua County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 21.5 µg/L.
Alachua-Alto Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Alachua County, Florida. Water clarity is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 30 other monitored lakes in Alachua County, Alachua-Alto Lake ranks #7 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-05-15. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Alachua-Alto Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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. Alachua-Alto Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Alachua-Alto Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Alachua-Alto Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Alachua-Alto Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 3.5 ft. Phosphorus 21.5 µg/L. TSI 54.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 21.5µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | No reading 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. | 54 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Alachua-Alto Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Alachua-Alto Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Alachua-Alto Lake in Alachua County, Florida — 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.
Top-rated places to stay near Alachua-Alto Lake
Prices for Oct 9–11, 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 whole trip? See where to stay at Florida’s top lakes →
Follow Alachua-Alto Lake’s readings
Email me when new measurements post for this lake. Updates stay free.
Or email
Fishing Alachua-Alto Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-1.21 µg/L/yr6 years
EPA Impairment Status
Alachua-Alto Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL3605H · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Alachua County
Frequently asked questions about Alachua-Alto Lake
Where is Alachua-Alto Lake?
- Alachua-Alto Lake is a lake in Alachua County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Alachua-Alto Lake?
- Alachua-Alto Lake in Alachua County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 21.5 µg/L.
Is Alachua-Alto Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Alachua-Alto Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Alachua-Alto Lake across LakeQuality
More lakes in Florida
Other Lakes in Florida
Eutrophic Lakes in Florida
Where this data comes from
365 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- FLORIDA LAKEWATCH
21FLKWAT_WQX365 samples · 2020–2025
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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