James Lake
Hillsborough County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for James Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
- Limited data
James Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.5 ft visibility.
James Lake is a lake in Hillsborough County, Florida. Water clarity is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2023-07-26. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. James Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether James 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 James Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for James 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 4.5 ft. TSI 55.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 4.5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading 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. | 55 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about James Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
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Fishing James Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-1.23 µg/L/yr6 years
EPA Impairment Status
James 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 FL1473Z · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Hillsborough County
Frequently asked questions about James Lake
Where is James Lake?
- James 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 James Lake?
- James Lake in Hillsborough County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 4.5 ft visibility.
Is James Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. James Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
9 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- North American Lake Management Society
NALMS9 samples · 2020–2023
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
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