Polk-Lulu Lake
Polk County, Florida4,640 acresView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Polk-Lulu Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
Polk-Lulu Lake in Polk County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 31 µg/L. Surface area: 4640 acres.
Polk-Lulu Lake is a 4,640-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Polk County, Florida. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 176 other monitored lakes in Polk County, Polk-Lulu Lake ranks #21 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-02-25. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Polk-Lulu Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Big water4,640 acres
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyRecreation use not supported
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-Lulu Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Polk-Lulu 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-Lulu Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Polk-Lulu 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 3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 31 µg/L. TSI 57.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 31µg/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. | 57 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Polk-Lulu Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
4,640 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Polk-Lulu Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Polk-Lulu Lake
Water Quality Trend: Improving
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Stable6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.66 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Polk-Lulu Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Southern Chain of Lakes Outfall, built primarily for flood risk reduction on the Wahneta Farms Drainage Canal; earth-type dam, 9 ft tall and 78 ft long.
- Surface area
- 4,640 ac
- Normal storage
- 9,280 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 21,864 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Significant
- Owner
- RICK JAMES INVESTMENTS, LLC
All listed purposes: Flood Risk Reduction;Recreation;Water Supply.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID FL13403 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.93 km)
EPA Impairment Status
Polk-Lulu 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, Recreation.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL1521 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Polk County
Frequently asked questions about Polk-Lulu Lake
Where is Polk-Lulu Lake?
- Polk-Lulu 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-Lulu Lake?
- Polk-Lulu Lake in Polk County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 31 µg/L. Surface area: 4640 acres.
Is Polk-Lulu Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Polk-Lulu Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 4A) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
101 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_WQX101 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