Doctors Lake
Clay County, Florida12 acresView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Doctors Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
Doctors Lake in Clay County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 84 µg/L. Surface area: 12 acres.
Doctors Lake is a 12-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Clay County, Florida. Water clarity is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 16 other monitored lakes in Clay County, Doctors Lake ranks #17 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-08-07. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Doctors Lake covers about 12 acres in Clay County. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Doctors Lake on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
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. Doctors Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Doctors 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 Doctors Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Doctors 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 2.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 84 µg/L. TSI 67.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 84µg/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. | 67 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Doctors Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
12 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Doctors Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Doctors Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Doctors Lake in Clay 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 Doctors Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Doctors Lake
Prices for Oct 16–18, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Doctors Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Improving6 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+5.78 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Doctors Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Doctors Lake Dam, built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Duck Creek; earth-type dam, 12 ft tall and 3,506 ft long.
- Surface area
- 12 ac
- Normal storage
- 48 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 144 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 16.1 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- ALLEN LAND GROUP, INC.
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID FL69005 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Doctors 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: Aquatic life, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL2389 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Clay County
Frequently asked questions about Doctors Lake
Where is Doctors Lake?
- Doctors Lake is a lake in Clay County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Doctors Lake?
- Doctors Lake in Clay County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 84 µg/L. Surface area: 12 acres.
Is Doctors Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Doctors Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Explore Doctors Lake across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Castillo de San Marcos?
Doctors Lake is about 30 miles from Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. Crowds there swing hard by season, so the month you pick changes both how busy the park is and what lodging costs.
Best time to visit Castillo de San Marcos →More lakes in Florida
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Where this data comes from
66 measurements from 5 monitoring stations, 2023–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- FL Dept. of Environmental Protection, Northeast District
21FLA_WQX66 samples · 2023–2025
Monitoring station identifiers (5)
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