Hillsborough-Armistead Lake
Hillsborough County, Florida33 acresView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Hillsborough-Armistead Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
- Limited data
Hillsborough-Armistead Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 21.5 µg/L. Surface area: 33.12 acres.
Hillsborough-Armistead Lake is a 33-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 123 other monitored lakes in Hillsborough County, Hillsborough-Armistead Lake ranks #33 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2024-11-21. 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. Hillsborough-Armistead Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hillsborough-Armistead 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 Hillsborough-Armistead Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Hillsborough-Armistead 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 5.7 ft. Phosphorus 21.5 µg/L. TSI 50.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 21.5µg/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. | 50 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Hillsborough-Armistead Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Hillsborough-Armistead Lake typically sits around 81°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 86°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 87°F) and coldest in Mar (about 69°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (69°F) to its warmest (87°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 63 field readings (2015–2019) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Hillsborough-Armistead Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Surface area
33 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Hillsborough-Armistead Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
Stays via Stay22
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Fishing Hillsborough-Armistead Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+4.15 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Hillsborough-Armistead Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Lake Armistead (completed 1972), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Lake Armistead/ROCKY CREEK; other-type dam, 7 ft tall and 35.7 ft long.
- Surface area
- 33.12 ac
- Normal storage
- 4,785 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 6,000 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- SWFWMD
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID FL12009 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.18 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Hillsborough-Armistead 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.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL1519C · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Hillsborough County
Frequently asked questions about Hillsborough-Armistead Lake
Where is Hillsborough-Armistead Lake?
- Hillsborough-Armistead Lake is a lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Hillsborough-Armistead Lake?
- Hillsborough-Armistead Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 21.5 µg/L. Surface area: 33.12 acres.
Is Hillsborough-Armistead Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hillsborough-Armistead Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown). Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Hillsborough-Armistead Lake?
- Hillsborough-Armistead Lake typically sits around 81°F at the surface in October, from 63 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2015–2019). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
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Where this data comes from
83 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_WQX83 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