The following data are summarized as seasonal average values for lake and river sampling locations located within the watershed. While these data are useful to serve as a general picture of watershed health, these data must be viewed with caution because these samples have been taken from ecologically different water resources.

Rivers:

Samples from most rivers located in this watershed are averaged as part of these data summaries.

Season	Total Nitrogen	Nitrate (NO3)	Total Phosphorus	Orthophosphate	Number of Sample Stations	Number of Samples
APR-JUN 2025	2,785 ug/l	1,072.9 ug/l	725 ug/l		17	17
JAN-MAR 2025	1,895 ug/l	888.4 ug/l	1,399 ug/l		29	31
OCT-DEC 2024	1,491 ug/l	240.5 ug/l	825 ug/l	0.84 mg/l	46	72
JUL-SEP 2024	1,711 ug/l	50.9 ug/l	792 ug/l	0.72 mg/l	51	91
APR-JUN 2024	1,558 ug/l		726 ug/l	0.45 mg/l	60	95
JAN-MAR 2024	5,981 ug/l		530 ug/l	0.58 mg/l	70	135
OCT-DEC 2023	1,303 ug/l		395 ug/l	0.76 mg/l	50	99
JUL-SEP 2023	1,674 ug/l		547 ug/l	0.63 mg/l	58	110
APR-JUN 2023	1,777 ug/l		718 ug/l	0.78 mg/l	64	117
JAN-MAR 2023	1,390 ug/l		535 ug/l	0.8 mg/l	57	111
Five Year Seasonal Graph	Graph	Graph	Graph	Graph
Five Year Graph of All Samples	Graph	Graph	Graph	Graph

Source(s): LAKEWATCH Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring, USEPA Region 4, FDEP Historic Data from Legacy STORET, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, SWFWMD Legacy Water Quality Sampling Data, Polk County Parks & Natural Resources Division, Biological Research Associates , FDEP Charlotte Harbor Aquatic/Buffer Preserves Sampling Data, Lee County, FDEP South District Sampling Data, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Water Quality Data, FDEP Watershed Monitoring Section, Polk County Natural Resources Division, SWFWMD Water Quality Sampling Data, FDEP Southwest Regional Operations Center, FDEP, Water Quality Standards and Special Projects (Florida), City of Punta Gorda, Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority (FL), SWFWMD/DEP Water Quality Sampling Data, USGS National Water Information System, FDEP - Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserves, Charlotte County, Flatwoods Consulting Group, FDEP - South Regional Operations Center, FDEP Watershed Monitoring Section, Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC, Polk County Natural Resources Division, Southwest Florida Water Management District, FDEP - Southwest Regional Operations Center, FDEP - Watershed Assessment Section, Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority

Lakes:

Samples from most lakes located in this watershed are averaged as part of these data summaries.

Season	Total Nitrogen	Nitrate (NO3)	Total Phosphorus	Orthophosphate	Number of Sample Stations	Number of Samples
APR-JUN 2025	1,265 ug/l	10.7 ug/l	58 ug/l		47	47
JAN-MAR 2025	1,306 ug/l	16.3 ug/l	96 ug/l		97	99
OCT-DEC 2024	1,227 ug/l	33.3 ug/l	106 ug/l		85	89
JUL-SEP 2024	1,280 ug/l	11.2 ug/l	106 ug/l		126	141
APR-JUN 2024	1,721 ug/l		203 ug/l		132	169
JAN-MAR 2024	2,002 ug/l		276 ug/l		122	164
OCT-DEC 2023	1,388 ug/l		142 ug/l		129	145
JUL-SEP 2023	1,332 ug/l		116 ug/l		131	164
APR-JUN 2023	1,462 ug/l		153 ug/l		147	212
JAN-MAR 2023	1,349 ug/l		108 ug/l		138	197
Five Year Seasonal Graph	Graph	Graph	Graph	Graph
Five Year Graph of All Samples	Graph	Graph	Graph	Graph

Source(s): Water quality data collected by the City of Lakeland, LAKEWATCH Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring, FDEP Historic Data from Legacy STORET, Polk County Parks & Natural Resources Division, Biological Research Associates , FDEP South District Sampling Data, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Water Quality Data, FDEP Watershed Monitoring Section, Polk County Natural Resources Division, SWFWMD Water Quality Sampling Data, FDEP Southwest Regional Operations Center, FDEP, Water Quality Standards and Special Projects (Florida), City of Punta Gorda, SWFWMD Water Quality Monitoring Program Data, USGS National Water Information System, FDEP - Central Regional Operations Center, Charlotte County, FDEP - South Regional Operations Center, FDEP Watershed Monitoring Section, Florida LAKEWATCH, Polk County Natural Resources Division, Southwest Florida Water Management District, FDEP - Southwest Regional Operations Center, FDEP - Watershed Assessment Section, City of Lakeland

Southwest Florida Water Management District calculates the Aquifer Resource Indicator (ARI) for their three groundwater regions each month. The ARI was created to provide the public with a gauge of groundwater levels in their area, so they can develop an understanding of the severity and cycles of drought and recovery. The three regions include: North (Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy, Marion, and Sumter counties), Central (Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, and Polk counties), and South (Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Manatee, and Sarasota counties). Learn More about the Aquifer Resource Indicator >>

To determine the ARI for a region, each well is compared weekly to its respective low-normal value and the difference is calculated. The weekly differences are reduced to a monthly value for all monitoring wells within a region, and the resulting ARI value represents how far water levels in the aquifer must rise or fall to reach their respective low-normal values.

Source: SWFWMD Hydrologic Data Section Data

River	Flows Whole River Range	Flows Data by Segment	Levels Whole River Range	Levels Data By Segment
Horse Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Bowlegs Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Peace River	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Peace Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is faster than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Saddle Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Whidden Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Lake Hamilton Canal	In the past 30 days NO DATA Recent river flow data is unavailable.	No data table or graph available	In the past 30 days Average water levels are lower than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Banana-Hancock Canal	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Lena Run	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Charlie Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Payne Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Lake Parker Outlet	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are the same as they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Lake Henry Canal	In the past 30 days NO DATA Recent river flow data is unavailable.	No data table or graph available	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Sixmile Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Joshua Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Little Charlie Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are lower than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Oak Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is faster than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Prairie Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Barber Branch	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Shell Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is faster than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are lower than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph
Fisheating Creek	In the past 30 days Average river flow is slower than it has been historically.	Flows Data Table and Graph	In the past 30 days Average water levels are higher than they have been historically.	Levels Data Table and Graph

Source(s): Not Available

Source(s): Not Available