Highlands-Francis Lake
Highlands County, Florida3,662 acresView mapDirections
No nutrient or algae sampling on record from Florida DEP for this lake.
- Impaired · Algal growth
- Limited data
Highlands-Francis Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Surface area: 3662 acres.
Highlands-Francis Lake is a 3,662-acre lake in Highlands County, Florida. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2021-04-26. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Highlands-Francis Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Big water3,662 acres
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Highlands-Francis Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Highlands-Francis 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 Highlands-Francis Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Highlands-Francis 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 Highlands-Francis Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
3,662 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Highlands-Francis Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Highlands-Francis Lake
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Fishing Highlands-Francis Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-1.4 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Highlands-Francis Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the G-90 (completed 1962), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Jack Creek; concrete-type dam, 15 ft tall and 21.67 ft long.
- Surface area
- 3,662 ac
- Normal storage
- 33,324 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 44,676 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 44 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- SWFWMD
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID FL00440 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.4 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Highlands-Francis Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL1938G · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Highlands County
Frequently asked questions about Highlands-Francis Lake
Where is Highlands-Francis Lake?
- Highlands-Francis Lake is a lake in Highlands County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Highlands-Francis Lake?
- Highlands-Francis Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Surface area: 3662 acres.
Is Highlands-Francis Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Highlands-Francis Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
18 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2021. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- FLORIDA LAKEWATCH
21FLKWAT_WQX18 samples · 2020–2021
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