Hydrology of Lake June in winter, Highlands County, South-central Florida

Lake June in Winter is in central Highlands County near the town of Lake Placid in south-central Florida. Recreation and citrus-grove irrigation are the major uses of lake water. Land use around the lake is residential citrus, and undeveloped. Most of the land use in the 44-square mile lake-drainage area is undeveloped. The surface area of the lake is approximately 5.7 square miles with water-surface altitude average of 74 feet. The extremes in lake altitude for the period 1945-82 were 77.58 feet in October 1948, and 71.62 feet in May 1981. Flow into Lake June in Winter is from Lake Placid to the south through Catfish Creek. Flow out of the Lake is northward through Stearns Creek to Lake Francis, and eventually by Josephine Creek to Lake Istokpoga. The quality of water in Lake June in Winter is good. Specific conductance was found to be generally low, ranging between 90 umho/cm to 170 umho/cm, indicating a lack of dissolved solids present in the lake. The lake is clear, with transparency values between 3 and 14 feet. Total nitrogen was found to be 0.60 mg/L indicating a minimal effect from nitrogen fertilizer washoff or septic-tank discharge. (USGS)