Highlands-Josephine East Lake
Highlands County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Highlands-Josephine East Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
- 47 ft max depth
- Public access
Highlands-Josephine East Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 41.5 µg/L.
Highlands-Josephine East Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Highlands County, Florida with an estimated average depth of about 47 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 2 public boat landings. Compared to the 72 other monitored lakes in Highlands County, Highlands-Josephine East Lake ranks #23 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-04-23. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Highlands-Josephine East Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch2 documented ramps
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-Josephine East 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-Josephine East 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-Josephine East Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Highlands-Josephine East Lake, 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 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 41.5 µg/L. TSI 63.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 41.5µg/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. | 63 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Highlands-Josephine East Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~47 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Florida DEP
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Florida has not published bathymetry for Highlands-Josephine East Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
82 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
487 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
4.1 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
69 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.
Recreation & Access
- Lake Josephine Public Boat RampPublic
- Lake Josephine Public Boat Ramp (Sentinel Point Park)Public
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Highlands-Josephine East Lake
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Fishing Highlands-Josephine East Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-4.9 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Highlands-Josephine East 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 FL1860B · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Highlands County
Frequently asked questions about Highlands-Josephine East Lake
Where is Highlands-Josephine East Lake?
- Highlands-Josephine East 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-Josephine East Lake?
- Highlands-Josephine East Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 41.5 µg/L.
Is Highlands-Josephine East Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Highlands-Josephine East Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Highlands-Josephine East Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Highlands-Josephine East Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 47 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Are there boat ramps on Highlands-Josephine East Lake?
- Highlands-Josephine East Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Josephine Public Boat Ramp, Lake Josephine Public Boat Ramp (Sentinel Point Park). Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Highlands-Josephine East Lake?
- Highlands-Josephine East Lake has 2 documented boat landings in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Florida's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
313 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_WQX313 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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory