Lake Apopka

USA / Florida / Montverde /

The third largest lake in Florida, it was once the second largest.
Lake Apopka suffered a century of abuse beginning in the 1890s when construction of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal lowered lake levels by a third.

The decline of Lake Apopka can be traced to:

* The loss of 20,000 acres of wetlands along the lake’s north shore to farming operations beginning in the 1940s
* Agricultural discharges laden with phosphorus until the late 1990s
* Treated wastewater discharges from shoreline communities prior to the 1980s
* Discharges from citrus processing plants prior to the 1980s

The increase in nutrients discharged into the lake led to a chronic algal bloom, and Lake Apopka’s waters turned pea green. The cloudy water prevented sunlight from reaching underwater vegetation critical to fish and wildlife habitat.

The continual settling of dead algae created a thick layer of soupy muck, which also destroyed the habitat necessary for fish and wildlife to thrive. The bass population significantly declined as gizzard shad became the predominant fish species in the lake. Once the bass disappeared, all the fish camps closed.

www.sjrwmd.com/lakeapopka/
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   28°37'10"N   81°37'23"W

Comments

  • The lake has been badly polluted from agricultural runoff, and the areas north subject to mice population explosions.
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This article was last modified 12 years ago