Alachua-Little Orange Lake
Alachua County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Alachua-Little Orange Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Alachua-Little Orange Lake in Alachua County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 176 µg/L.
Alachua-Little Orange Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Alachua County, Florida. Compared to the 30 other monitored lakes in Alachua County, Alachua-Little Orange Lake ranks #22 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2020-08-28. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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-Little Orange Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Alachua-Little Orange 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-Little Orange Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Alachua-Little Orange Lake, 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 2.8 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 176 µg/L. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 176µg/L | Poor 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. | 70 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Alachua-Little Orange Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Alachua-Little Orange Lake typically sits around 73°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 88°F. Usually warmest in Jun (about 88°F) and coldest in Jan (about 55°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (55°F) to its warmest (88°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 12 field readings (2010–2017) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Alachua-Little Orange Lake water temperature breakdown →
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Stays near Alachua-Little Orange Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Alachua-Little Orange 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Alachua-Little Orange Lake are listed below.
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Fishing Alachua-Little Orange Lake
EPA Impairment Status
Alachua-Little Orange Lake 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, Fish consumption, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL2713D · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Alachua County
Frequently asked questions about Alachua-Little Orange Lake
Where is Alachua-Little Orange Lake?
- Alachua-Little Orange 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-Little Orange Lake?
- Alachua-Little Orange Lake in Alachua County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 176 µg/L.
Is Alachua-Little Orange Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Alachua-Little Orange Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Alachua-Little Orange Lake?
- Alachua-Little Orange Lake typically sits around 73°F at the surface in October, from 12 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2017). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
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Where this data comes from
6 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- FLORIDA LAKEWATCH
21FLKWAT_WQX6 samples · 2020
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