Hancock Lake
Orange County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Hancock Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 23 ft max depth
Hancock Lake in Orange County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.5 µg/L.
Hancock Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Orange County, Florida with an estimated average depth of about 23 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 319 other monitored lakes in Orange County, Hancock Lake ranks #115 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-03-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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, Hancock Lake never exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 0% of 22 samples across 7 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 Hancock 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 Hancock Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Hancock Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.5 ft. Phosphorus 8.5 µg/L. TSI 42.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 7.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 8.5µg/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. | 42 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Hancock Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Hancock Lake typically sits around 78°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 87°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 87°F) and coldest in Jan (about 65°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (65°F) to its warmest (87°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 43 field readings (2010–2025) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Hancock Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~23 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 Hancock Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
12 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
84 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
89 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 Hancock Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hancock 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 Hancock Lake
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Fishing Hancock Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Stable5 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+1.6 µg/L/yr5 years
Nearby Lakes in Orange County
Frequently asked questions about Hancock Lake
Where is Hancock Lake?
- Hancock 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 Hancock Lake?
- Hancock Lake in Orange County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 8.5 µg/L.
Is Hancock Lake safe to swim in?
- Based on E. coli testing, Hancock Lake never exceeded the EPA safe-swimming threshold (235 MPN/100mL) — on 0% of 22 samples across 7 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 Hancock 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 Hancock Lake?
- Hancock Lake typically sits around 78°F at the surface in October, from 43 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2025). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Hancock Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hancock Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 23 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Hancock Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
71 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples63 samples · 2020–2025
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples8 samples · 2024–2025
Monitoring station identifiers (2)
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)