Hernando-Hunter Lake
Hernando County, Florida349 acresView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Hernando-Hunter Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
- 25 ft max depth
- Limited data
Hernando-Hunter Lake in Hernando County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 14 µg/L. Surface area: 349 acres.
Hernando-Hunter Lake is a 349-acre mesotrophic lake in Hernando County, Florida with an estimated average depth of about 25 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 8 other monitored lakes in Hernando County, Hernando-Hunter Lake ranks #2 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2024-11-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited data
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. Hernando-Hunter Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hernando-Hunter 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 Hernando-Hunter Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Hernando-Hunter Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 6.3 ft. Phosphorus 14 µg/L. TSI 46.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 6.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 14µg/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. | 46 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Hernando-Hunter Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Hernando-Hunter Lake typically sits around 71°F at the surface in November. Summer average is about 85°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 85°F) and coldest in Feb (about 64°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (64°F) to its warmest (85°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 28 field readings (2010–2019) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Hernando-Hunter Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~25 ft est.
Surface area
349 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Florida has not published bathymetry for Hernando-Hunter Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
112 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
10 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.
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Stays near Hernando-Hunter Lake
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Fishing Hernando-Hunter Lake
Water quality readings over time
2 seasons of samples on record (2021–2024). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+1 µg/L/yr2 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hernando-Hunter Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Baffin Waterway System Control Stucture, built primarily for water supply on the Hunters Lake; other-type dam, 9 ft tall and 80 ft long.
- Surface area
- 349 ac
- Normal storage
- 354 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 2,747 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- HERNANDO COUNTY
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID FL17001 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.91 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Hernando-Hunter 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 FL1391 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Hernando County
Frequently asked questions about Hernando-Hunter Lake
Where is Hernando-Hunter Lake?
- Hernando-Hunter Lake is a lake in Hernando County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hernando-Hunter Lake?
- Hernando-Hunter Lake in Hernando County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 14 µg/L. Surface area: 349 acres.
Is Hernando-Hunter Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hernando-Hunter Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Hernando-Hunter Lake?
- Hernando-Hunter Lake typically sits around 71°F at the surface in November, from 28 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2019). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Hernando-Hunter Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Hernando-Hunter Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 25 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 349 acres.
Explore Hernando-Hunter Lake across LakeQuality
5.4 mi away · cable-pulled, no boat wake
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Where this data comes from
51 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- FLORIDA LAKEWATCH
21FLKWAT_WQX51 samples · 2020–2024
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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)