El Capitan Lake
San Diego County, California965 acresView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from SWRCB for this lake.
- Impaired · Mercury
- Limited data
El Capitan Lake in San Diego County, California has water-quality measurements published by SWRCB, shown here as reported. Surface area: 965 acres.
El Capitan Lake is a 965-acre lake in San Diego County, California.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, your state environmental agency. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. El Capitan Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, metals (other than mercury), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity, taste, color, odor. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether El Capitan Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the California State Water Resources Control Board and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for El Capitan Lake
These are the measurements SWRCB publishes for El Capitan Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
No clarity data.
Ask about El Capitan Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
965 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for El Capitan Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing El Capitan Lake
EPA Impairment Status
El Capitan Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Drinking water, Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit CAL9073100020011025093211 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in San Diego County
Frequently asked questions about El Capitan Lake
Where is El Capitan Lake?
- El Capitan Lake is a lake in San Diego County, California. Its water-quality measurements are published by SWRCB and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of El Capitan Lake?
- El Capitan Lake in San Diego County, California has water-quality measurements published by SWRCB, shown here as reported. Surface area: 965 acres.
Is El Capitan Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. El Capitan Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for mercury, metals (other than mercury), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity, taste, color, odor. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
Measurements for El Capitan Lake come from the EPA Water Quality Portal. Per-sample source details are not recorded for this lake.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database