Big Sand S Lake
Orange County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Big Sand S Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Oligotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 42 ft max depth
Big Sand S Lake in Orange County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 6 µg/L.
Big Sand S Lake is a cold, clear oligotrophic lake in Orange County, Florida with an estimated average depth of about 42 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 319 other monitored lakes in Orange County, Big Sand S Lake ranks #174 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-02-27. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Big Sand S Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water11.2 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyBacteria tested: low
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.
Based on E. coli testing, Big Sand S Lake never exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 0% of 28 samples across 8 seasons.
This is a historical summary of past testing, not a current condition — bacteria levels change quickly, especially after rain. Always check Florida’s current beach and health-department advisories before swimming.
Whether Big Sand S 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 Big Sand S Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Big Sand S Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 11.2 ft. Phosphorus 6 µg/L. TSI 36.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 11.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 6µg/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. | 36 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Big Sand S Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Big Sand S Lake typically sits around 79°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 86°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 87°F) and coldest in Dec (about 68°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (68°F) to its warmest (87°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 51 field readings (2010–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Big Sand S Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~42 ft est.
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Florida has not published bathymetry for Big Sand S Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
10 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
301 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
79 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Big Sand S Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Big Sand S Lake in Orange 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 Big Sand S Lake
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Fishing Big Sand S Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.8 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Big Sand S 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.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL3169C · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Big Sand S Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits.
- Sea World - AquaticaOrlando · 1.8 mi away · NPDES FL0622591
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Orange County
Frequently asked questions about Big Sand S Lake
Where is Big Sand S Lake?
- Big Sand S Lake is a lake in Orange County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Big Sand S Lake?
- Big Sand S Lake in Orange County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 11.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 6 µg/L.
Is Big Sand S Lake safe to swim in?
- Based on E. coli testing, Big Sand S Lake never exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 0% of 28 samples across 8 seasons. That is a historical summary of past bacteria testing, not a current reading and not a swimming clearance. Bacteria levels can spike quickly after heavy rain, so whether Big Sand S Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for Florida's water agency and the county health department; check their current beach advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Big Sand S Lake?
- Big Sand S Lake typically sits around 79°F at the surface in October, from 51 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Big Sand S Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Big Sand S Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 42 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Big Sand S Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
59 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples59 samples · 2020–2025
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)