Monkey Lake
Leon County, Florida6 acresView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Monkey Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Algal growth
- 36 ft max depth
- Limited data
Monkey Lake in Leon County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 36.5 µg/L. Surface area: 6 acres.
Monkey Lake is a 6-acre lake in Leon County, Florida with an estimated average depth of about 36 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2024-10-02. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingRecreation use not supported
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Monkey Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Monkey 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 Monkey Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Monkey Lake, 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 1.9 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 36.5 µg/L. TSI 62.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 36.5µg/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. | 62 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Monkey Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Water Temperature
Monkey Lake typically sits around 76°F at the surface in October. Summer average is about 87°F. Usually warmest in Jun (about 87°F) and coldest in Dec (about 60°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.
Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (60°F) to its warmest (87°F).
Typical surface water temperature by month, from 44 field readings (2011–2024) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Monkey Lake water temperature breakdown →
Lake Details
Max depth
~36 ft est.
Surface area
6 acres
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Florida has not published bathymetry for Monkey Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
2 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
0.9 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
154 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Monkey Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Monkey Lake in Leon 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.
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Fishing Monkey Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Stable+0.61 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Monkey Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Monkey Business Pond Dam (completed 1958), built primarily for recreation on the Tr-Lake Iamonia; earth-type dam, 15 ft tall and 466 ft long.
- Surface area
- 6 ac
- Normal storage
- 131 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 183 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 0 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- KILLEARN LAKES PLANTATION HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATION
All listed purposes: Recreation;Irrigation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID FL00114 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.29 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Monkey 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, Recreation.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL546C · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Leon County
Frequently asked questions about Monkey Lake
Where is Monkey Lake?
- Monkey Lake is a lake in Leon County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Monkey Lake?
- Monkey Lake in Leon County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 36.5 µg/L. Surface area: 6 acres.
Is Monkey Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Monkey Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
What is the water temperature of Monkey Lake?
- Monkey Lake typically sits around 76°F at the surface in October, from 44 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2011–2024). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.
How deep is Monkey Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Monkey Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 36 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 6 acres.
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Where this data comes from
11 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples11 samples · 2023–2024
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
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)