Compass Lake
Jackson County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Compass Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
Compass Lake in Jackson County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 5 µg/L.
Compass Lake is a lake in Jackson County, Florida. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2022-07-05. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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What Compass Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water14.1 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Compass Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Compass 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 Compass Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Compass 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 14.1 ft. Phosphorus 5 µg/L. TSI 33.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 14.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 5µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| 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. | 33 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Compass Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
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Stays near Compass Lake
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Fishing Compass Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+1 µg/L/yr2 years
EPA Impairment Status
Compass 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 FL516 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Jackson County
Frequently asked questions about Compass Lake
Where is Compass Lake?
- Compass Lake is a lake in Jackson County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Compass Lake?
- Compass Lake in Jackson County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 14.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 5 µg/L.
Is Compass Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Compass Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
2 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples2 samples · 2022
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