Highlands-Josephine West Lake
Highlands County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Highlands-Josephine West Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
- 36 ft max depth
- Public access
Highlands-Josephine West Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 92 µg/L.
Highlands-Josephine West Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Highlands County, Florida with an estimated average depth of about 36 feet. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing. Compared to the 72 other monitored lakes in Highlands County, Highlands-Josephine West Lake ranks #64 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 West Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyElevated nutrients
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 West 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 West 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 West Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Highlands-Josephine West 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 1.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 92 µg/L. TSI 70.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 92µg/L | Poor 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. | 70 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Highlands-Josephine West Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~36 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 West Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
11 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
301 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
2.6 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
59 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 Ramp (Oak Beach)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 West Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Highlands-Josephine West Lake in Highlands 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. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Highlands-Josephine West Lake are listed below.
Top-rated places to stay near Highlands-Josephine West Lake
Prices for Oct 16–18, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
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Fishing Highlands-Josephine West Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Stable5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-5.2 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Highlands-Josephine West 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 West Lake
Where is Highlands-Josephine West Lake?
- Highlands-Josephine West 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 West Lake?
- Highlands-Josephine West Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 92 µg/L.
Is Highlands-Josephine West Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Highlands-Josephine West 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 West Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Highlands-Josephine West Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 36 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 West Lake?
- Highlands-Josephine West Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Lake Josephine Public Boat Ramp (Oak Beach). Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Highlands-Josephine West Lake?
- Highlands-Josephine West Lake has 1 documented boat landing 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
316 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_WQX316 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