Hillsborough-Wilson Lake
Hillsborough County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Hillsborough-Wilson Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
Hillsborough-Wilson Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 15 µg/L.
Hillsborough-Wilson Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. Water clarity is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 123 other monitored lakes in Hillsborough County, Hillsborough-Wilson Lake ranks #30 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-05-03. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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. Hillsborough-Wilson Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Hillsborough-Wilson 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-Wilson Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Hillsborough-Wilson 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 8.2 ft. Phosphorus 15 µg/L. TSI 45.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8.2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 15µg/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. | 45 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
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Fishing Hillsborough-Wilson Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.5 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Hillsborough-Wilson Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 4A).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL1463L · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Hillsborough County
Frequently asked questions about Hillsborough-Wilson Lake
Where is Hillsborough-Wilson Lake?
- Hillsborough-Wilson 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-Wilson Lake?
- Hillsborough-Wilson Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8.2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 15 µg/L.
Is Hillsborough-Wilson Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Hillsborough-Wilson Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
320 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_WQX320 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