Polk-Whistler Lake
Polk County, Florida764 acresView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Polk-Whistler Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
Polk-Whistler Lake in Polk County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 19 µg/L. Surface area: 764 acres.
Polk-Whistler Lake is a 764-acre productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Polk County, Florida. Water clarity is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 176 other monitored lakes in Polk County, Polk-Whistler Lake ranks #16 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-03-23. 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. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Polk-Whistler 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-Whistler Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Polk-Whistler 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 5 ft. Phosphorus 19 µg/L. TSI 50.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 19µg/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. | 50 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Polk-Whistler Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
764 acres
No bathymetric survey has been published for Polk-Whistler Lake, so its depth is not documented here.
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Fishing Polk-Whistler Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening6 years
Phosphorus
Improving-0.5 µg/L/yr6 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Polk-Whistler Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Structure P-3 (completed 1965), built primarily for flood risk reduction on the P-3 Canal; concrete-type dam, 18 ft tall.
- Surface area
- 764 ac
- Normal storage
- 6,112 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 11,460 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 3.7 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- SWFWMD
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID FL12011 · Operator website · Matched by proximity (0.34 km)
Nearby Lakes in Polk County
Frequently asked questions about Polk-Whistler Lake
Where is Polk-Whistler Lake?
- Polk-Whistler 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-Whistler Lake?
- Polk-Whistler Lake in Polk County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 19 µg/L. Surface area: 764 acres.
Is Polk-Whistler Lake 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
348 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_WQX348 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.