Lake Henry
Polk County, Florida861 acresView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Lake Henry. Here is what has been measured.
- Limited data
Lake Henry in Polk County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 119.5 µg/L. Surface area: 861 acres.
Lake Henry is a 861-acre lake in Polk County, Florida. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2022-11-09. 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 Lake Henry 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 Lake Henry
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Lake Henry, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 119.5 µg/L. TSI 73.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 120µg/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. | 73 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Lake Henry
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
861 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Lake Henry, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Lake Henry
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 4 years of monitoring (2022–2025).
Water clarity
Improving4 years
Phosphorus
Improving-15.15 µg/L/yr4 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Lake Henry is a man-made reservoir impounded by the P-5 (completed 1964), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the P5 Canal; concrete-type dam, 33 ft tall and 60 ft long.
- Surface area
- 861 ac
- Normal storage
- 5,166 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 12,312 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 4.3 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- SWFWMD
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID FL12012 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Polk County
Frequently asked questions about Lake Henry
Where is Lake Henry?
- Lake Henry is a lake in Polk County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Lake Henry?
- Lake Henry in Polk County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 119.5 µg/L. Surface area: 861 acres.
Is Lake Henry 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
8 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples8 samples · 2022
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.