Hillsborough-Charles Lake
Hillsborough County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Hillsborough-Charles Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Limited data
Hillsborough-Charles Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 18.5 µg/L.
Hillsborough-Charles Lake is a lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2023-07-15. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hillsborough-Charles 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-Charles Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Hillsborough-Charles 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 4 ft. Phosphorus 18.5 µg/L. TSI 52.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 18.5µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| 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. | 52 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
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Fishing Hillsborough-Charles Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Stable5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-1.1 µg/L/yr5 years
Nearby Lakes in Hillsborough County
Frequently asked questions about Hillsborough-Charles Lake
Where is Hillsborough-Charles Lake?
- Hillsborough-Charles 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-Charles Lake?
- Hillsborough-Charles Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 18.5 µg/L.
Is Hillsborough-Charles Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
20 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- FLORIDA LAKEWATCH
21FLKWAT_WQX20 samples · 2023
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.