Hardesty Lake Center
Putnam County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Hardesty Lake Center. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · pH / acidity
- 38 ft max depth
- Limited data
Hardesty Lake Center in Putnam County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 53 µg/L.
Hardesty Lake Center is a lake in Putnam County, Florida with an estimated average depth of about 38 feet.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2020-12-14. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hardesty Lake Center is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hardesty Lake Center 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 Hardesty Lake Center
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Hardesty Lake Center, 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 53 µg/L. TSI 63.
| 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 | 53µg/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. | 63 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Hardesty Lake Center
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Hardesty Lake Center typically sits around 79°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 80°F. Usually warmest in Jul (about 80°F) and coldest in Jan (about 57°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (57°F) to its warmest (80°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 29 field readings (2017–2020) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Hardesty Lake Center water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~38 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 Hardesty Lake Center.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
7 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
37 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
75 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 Hardesty Lake Center
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hardesty Lake Center in Putnam 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 Hardesty Lake Center
Prices for Oct 16–18, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Florida’s top lakes →
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Fishing Hardesty Lake Center
EPA Impairment Status
Hardesty Lake Center is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4C).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL2716X · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Putnam County
Frequently asked questions about Hardesty Lake Center
Where is Hardesty Lake Center?
- Hardesty Lake Center is a lake in Putnam County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hardesty Lake Center?
- Hardesty Lake Center in Putnam County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 53 µg/L.
Is Hardesty Lake Center safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hardesty Lake Center is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4C) for pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Hardesty Lake Center?
- Hardesty Lake Center typically sits around 79°F at the surface in October, from 29 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2017–2020). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Hardesty Lake Center?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hardesty Lake Center, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 38 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Explore Hardesty Lake Center across LakeQuality
Planning a trip around Fort Matanzas?
Hardesty Lake Center is about 38 miles from Fort Matanzas 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 Fort Matanzas →More lakes in Florida
Other Lakes in Florida
Eutrophic Lakes in Florida
Where this data comes from
9 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- FL Dept. of Environmental Protection, Northeast District
21FLA_WQX9 samples · 2020
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)