Saddlebags Lake
Highlands County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Saddlebags Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Limited data
Saddlebags Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L.
Saddlebags Lake is a lake in Highlands County, Florida. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2022-09-15. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Saddlebags 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 Saddlebags Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Saddlebags 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 5.9 ft. Phosphorus 10 µg/L. TSI 44.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 5.9ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 10µg/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. | 44 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
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Fishing Saddlebags Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Phosphorus
Stable-0.15 µg/L/yr5 years
Nearby Lakes in Highlands County
Frequently asked questions about Saddlebags Lake
Where is Saddlebags Lake?
- Saddlebags Lake is a lake in Highlands County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Saddlebags Lake?
- Saddlebags Lake in Highlands County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 5.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 10 µg/L.
Is Saddlebags 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
2 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Submitting organization not recorded for these samples2 samples · 2022
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.