Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake
Sarasota County, FloridaView mapDirections
Florida DEP publishes the water-quality measurements for Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Hypereutrophic
- Impaired · Impaired biota (cause unknown)
Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake in Sarasota County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 387 µg/L.
Sarasota-Upper Myakka 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-Upper Myakka Lake ranks #20 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, FDEP, last sampled 2025-01-27. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyElevated nutrients
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-Upper Myakka Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Sarasota-Upper Myakka 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-Upper Myakka Lake
These are the measurements Florida DEP publishes for Sarasota-Upper Myakka 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 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 387 µg/L. TSI 79.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 387µg/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. | 79 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake
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Stays near Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Sarasota-Upper Myakka 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-Upper Myakka Lake are listed below.
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Fishing Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake
Water Quality Trend: Stable
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Worsening5 years
Phosphorus
Improving-28.35 µg/L/yr5 years
EPA Impairment Status
Sarasota-Upper Myakka 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, Fish consumption.
A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan has been approved.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit FL1981C · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Sarasota County
Frequently asked questions about Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake
Where is Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake?
- Sarasota-Upper Myakka 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-Upper Myakka Lake?
- Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake in Sarasota County, Florida has water-quality measurements published by Florida DEP, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 387 µg/L.
Is Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Sarasota-Upper Myakka Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for impaired biota (cause unknown), mercury. Check local advisories before you swim.
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Where this data comes from
291 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_WQX291 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