Sarasota-Cormorant Lake
Sarasota County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Sarasota-Cormorant Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Algal growth
Sarasota-Cormorant Lake in Sarasota County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 164.5 µg/L.
Sarasota-Cormorant Lake is a highly nutrient-loaded hypereutrophic lake in Sarasota County, Florida. Water clarity is declining over recent sampling years. Compared to the 29 other monitored lakes in Sarasota County, Sarasota-Cormorant Lake ranks #17 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-02-11. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyBacteria advisory
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. Sarasota-Cormorant Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pathogens (E. coli, fecal). Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Sarasota-Cormorant 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 Sarasota-Cormorant Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Sarasota-Cormorant 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 2.4 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 164.5 µg/L. TSI 71.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.4ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 165µg/L | Poor 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. | 71 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Sarasota-Cormorant Lake
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Stays near Sarasota-Cormorant Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Sarasota-Cormorant Lake in Sarasota County, Florida — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water. The water-quality readings cover nutrients and algae, not lodging. Cabins and rentals around Sarasota-Cormorant Lake are listed below.
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Fishing Sarasota-Cormorant Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 6 years of monitoring (2020–2025).
Water clarity
Worsening2 years
Phosphorus
Improving-4.47 µg/L/yr6 years
EPA Impairment Status
Sarasota-Cormorant Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2022 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
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 FL1971 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Sarasota County
Frequently asked questions about Sarasota-Cormorant Lake
Where is Sarasota-Cormorant Lake?
- Sarasota-Cormorant Lake is a lake in Sarasota County, Florida. Its water-quality measurements are published by Florida DEP and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Sarasota-Cormorant Lake?
- Sarasota-Cormorant Lake in Sarasota County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.4 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 164.5 µg/L.
Is Sarasota-Cormorant Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Sarasota-Cormorant Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for algal growth, nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pathogens (E. coli, fecal). Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
108 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_WQX108 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