The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board approved the recommended minimum and guidance levels for select lakes in Highlands, Pasco and Polk counties. The Highlands County lakes include Angelo, Denton, Placid, Tulane and Verona. The Pasco County lakes include King, King-East and Linda. The Polk County lake is Crooked Lake.
A minimum flow or level (MFL) is the limit at which further water withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources and/or environment. The District Governing Board sets these limits as part of achieving a balance between meeting human water needs and those of Florida’s natural systems. Minimum lake levels are used as guidelines in District permitting programs, for development of water resource projects and as information for development bordering lakes.
The District sets a minimum and a high minimum level for each lake.
TheHigh Minimum Lake Level is the elevation that the lake water level must equal or exceed 10 percent of the time on a long-term basis to meet minimum level requirements.
The *Minimum Lake Level is the elevation that the lake water level must equal or exceed 50 percent of the time on a long-term basis to meet minimum level requirements.
If a lake does not meet minimum level requirements the District is required to develop a recovery strategy for the lake.
The District also sets high and low guidance levels for each lake.
TheLow Guidance Level is provided as an advisory guideline for water dependent structures, information for lake shore residents and operation of
water management structures. This level is the expected Historic water level equaled or exceeded 90% of the time.
TheHigh Guidance Level is provided as an advisory guideline for construction of lake shore development, water dependent structures, and operation of water management structures. This level is the expected Historic water level equaled or exceeded 10 percent of the time.
The approved Minimum and Guidance Levels are defined as elevations relative to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD) and are listed in the table below.
| Lake | High Guidance Level (ft. NGVD) | High Minimum Lake Level (ft. NGVD) | Minimum Lake Level (ft. NGVD) | Low Guidance Level (ft. NGVD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angelo | 102.1 | 101.3 | 100.0 | 99.6 |
| Denton | 114.9 | 114.1 | 112.8 | 112.4 |
| Crooked | 121.2 | 120.8 | 117.9 | 116.4 |
| King | 73.1 | 72.4 | 70.8 | 69.7 |
| King-East | 105.7 | 105.1 | 102.7 | 101.4 |
| Linda | 66.3 | 66.2 | 64.7 | 63.6 |
| Placid | 93.4 | 92.6 | 91.4 | 90.9 |
| Tulane | 118.7 | 117.9 | 116.6 | 116.2 |
| Verona | 118.2 | 117.4 | 115.8 | 115.1 |
Additional information on the approved levels is available in reports posted on the District’s web site, WaterMatters.org, under the Proposed Minimum and Guidance Levels heading on the Documents and Publications page.