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LakeQuality

Hillsborough-Church Lake

Hillsborough County, FloridaView mapDirections

Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Hillsborough-Church Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
7 ft
Clearer than most
Secchi · sampled 2025
Phosphorus
15 µg/L
Typical for Florida
Measured by Florida DEP
Water temp
~79°F
Typical for Oct · EPA WQP
Type
Mesotrophic
Trophic class
Trend
Improving
6 years of samples
  • Mesotrophic
  • Impaired · Algal growth

Hillsborough-Church Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 15 µg/L.

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Hillsborough-Church Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 123 other monitored lakes in Hillsborough County, Hillsborough-Church Lake ranks #46 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-04-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Swimming conditions

Readings only

Recreation use not supported

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-Church Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Hillsborough-Church 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.

Get alerts for Hillsborough-Church Lake →

Water quality measurements for Hillsborough-Church Lake

These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Hillsborough-Church Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft. Phosphorus 15 µg/L. TSI 46.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)7ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorus15µg/LGood
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.46Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Hillsborough-Church Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Water Temperature

Hillsborough-Church Lake typically sits around 79°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 88°F. Usually warmest in Jun (about 89°F) and coldest in Dec (about 55°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.

59°
Jan
60°
Feb
69°
Mar
78°
Apr
83°
May
89°
Jun
86°
Jul
89°
Aug
84°
Sep
79°
Oct
70°
Nov
55°
Dec

Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (55°F) to its warmest (89°F).

Typical surface water temperature by month, from 96 field readings (2010–2012) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Hillsborough-Church Lake water temperature breakdown →

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Hillsborough-Church Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Hillsborough-Church Lake in Hillsborough 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.

Top-rated places to stay near Hillsborough-Church Lake

Prices for Oct 16–18, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.

Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.

Planning a whole trip? See where to stay at Florida’s top lakes →

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Fishing Hillsborough-Church Lake

Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).

  • Water clarity

    Stable

    6 years

  • Phosphorus

    Improving

    -0.33 µg/L/yr6 years

See year-by-year chart →

EPA Impairment Status

Hillsborough-Church Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Algal growth

Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Recreation.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL1493A · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in Hillsborough County

Frequently asked questions about Hillsborough-Church Lake

Where is Hillsborough-Church Lake?

Hillsborough-Church 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-Church Lake?

Hillsborough-Church Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 15 µg/L.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Hillsborough-Church Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hillsborough-Church Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

What is the water temperature of Hillsborough-Church Lake?

Hillsborough-Church Lake typically sits around 79°F at the surface in October, from 96 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2010–2012). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.

Temp on this page ↑

Where this data comes from

267 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • FLORIDA LAKEWATCH21FLKWAT_WQX267 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