Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake
Polk County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- Impaired · Mercury
Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake in Polk County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 13.5 µg/L.
Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Polk County, Florida. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 176 other monitored lakes in Polk County, Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake ranks #17 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-04-21. 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. Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury, pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Polk-Crooked-Babson Park 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 Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Polk-Crooked-Babson Park 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 ft. Phosphorus 13.5 µg/L. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 8ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 13.5µg/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. | 44 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
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Fishing Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+0.9 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Polk-Crooked-Babson Park 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: Aquatic life, Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL1663 · Official waterbody report
Regulated Pollution Sources Nearby
1 EPA-permitted facility operate within about 5 miles of Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake under Clean Water Act (NPDES) discharge permits, including 1 classified by the EPA as major discharger.
- Hillcrest Heights, Town OfBabson Park · 0.9 mi away · NPDES FLS266698Major
Facilities permitted to discharge under the Clean Water Act within ~5 miles; proximity does not by itself mean a facility affects this lake. Source: EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES), as of 2026-07.
Nearby Lakes in Polk County
Frequently asked questions about Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake
Where is Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake?
- Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake 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 Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake?
- Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake in Polk County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 8 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 13.5 µg/L.
Is Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Polk-Crooked-Babson Park Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for mercury, pH / acidity. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
95 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- FLORIDA LAKEWATCH
21FLKWAT_WQX95 samples · 2020–2025
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
Regulated discharger data from EPA ECHO (ICIS-NPDES)