Highlands-Jackson Lake
Highlands County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Highlands-Jackson Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
Highlands-Jackson Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 14 µg/L.
Highlands-Jackson Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Highlands County, Florida. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 72 other monitored lakes in Highlands County, Highlands-Jackson Lake ranks #37 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-04-21. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Highlands-Jackson Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water10.5 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLow algae
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. Highlands-Jackson Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Highlands-Jackson 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-Jackson Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Highlands-Jackson Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 10.5 ft. Phosphorus 14 µg/L. TSI 43.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 10.5ft | 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. | 43 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Highlands-Jackson Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
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Fishing Highlands-Jackson Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.25 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Highlands-Jackson 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, Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL1860D · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Highlands County
Frequently asked questions about Highlands-Jackson Lake
Where is Highlands-Jackson Lake?
- Highlands-Jackson 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-Jackson Lake?
- Highlands-Jackson Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 10.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 14 µg/L.
Is Highlands-Jackson Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Highlands-Jackson Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
234 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- FLORIDA LAKEWATCH
21FLKWAT_WQX234 samples · 2020–2025
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