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LakeQuality

Putnam-Rowan Lake

Putnam County, FloridaView mapDirections

Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Putnam-Rowan Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
2.5 ft
Typical for Florida
Secchi · sampled 2025
Phosphorus
21 µg/L
Typical for Florida
Measured by Florida DEP
Type
Eutrophic
Trophic class
Trend
Improving
5 years of samples
  • Eutrophic
  • Impaired · Metals (other than mercury)

Putnam-Rowan Lake in Putnam County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 21 µg/L.

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Putnam-Rowan Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Putnam County, Florida. Overall water quality is improving over recent sampling years. Compared to the 27 other monitored lakes in Putnam County, Putnam-Rowan Lake ranks #4 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-03-12. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Swimming conditions

Readings only

Recreation 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. Putnam-Rowan Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Putnam-Rowan 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.

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Water quality measurements for Putnam-Rowan Lake

These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Putnam-Rowan 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 2.5 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 21 µg/L. TSI 56.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)2.5ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorus21µg/LGood
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.56Eutrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

Ask about Putnam-Rowan Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

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Stays near Putnam-Rowan Lake

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Fishing Putnam-Rowan Lake

Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).

  • Water clarity

    Stable

    5 years

  • Phosphorus

    Improving

    -1.35 µg/L/yr5 years

See year-by-year chart →

EPA Impairment Status

Putnam-Rowan Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).

Causes of impairment

Metals (other than mercury)Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)Oxygen depletion (low DO)

Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life, Recreation.

Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL2582A · Official waterbody report

Nearby Lakes in Putnam County

Frequently asked questions about Putnam-Rowan Lake

Where is Putnam-Rowan Lake?

Putnam-Rowan Lake is a lake in Putnam County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Putnam-Rowan Lake?

Putnam-Rowan Lake in Putnam County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.5 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 21 µg/L.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Putnam-Rowan Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Putnam-Rowan Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for metals (other than mercury), nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), oxygen depletion (low DO). Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

Where this data comes from

360 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • FLORIDA LAKEWATCH21FLKWAT_WQX360 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