Lake Apopka
| Lake Apopka | |
|---|---|
| Location | Orange / Lake counties, Florida, United States |
| Coordinates | 28°37′14″N 81°37′19″W / 28.62056°N 81.62194°WCoordinates: 28°37′14″N 81°37′19″W / 28.62056°N 81.62194°W |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 12.3 mi (19.8 km) |
| Max. width | 9.7 mi (15.6 km) |
| Surface area | 30,800 acres (125 km2) |
| Average depth | 15.4 feet (4.7 m) |
Lake Apopka is the third largest lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Orlando, mostly within the bounds of Orange County, although the western part is in Lake County. Fed by a natural spring, rainfall and stormwater runoff, water from Lake Apopka flows through the Apopka-Beauclair Canal and into Lakes Beauclair and Dora. From Lake Dora, water flows into Lake Eustis, then into Lake Griffin and then northward into the Ocklawaha River, which flows into the St. Johns River.
Through the 1940s, Lake Apopka was one of Central Florida’s main attractions. Anglers traveled from throughout the United States to fish for trophy-sized bass in Lake Apopka, and 21 fish camps lined the lake’s shoreline.
Lake Apopka has a history of more than 100 years of human alteration, beginning with construction of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal in 1888. In 1941, a levee was built along the north shore to drain 20,000 acres (80 km²) of shallow marsh for farming. The discharge of water, rich in nutrients from agricultural and other sources, produced conditions that created a chronic algal bloom and resulted in loss of the lake’s recreational value and game fish populations.
In July 1980, Tower Chemical Company (TCC), a local pesticide manufacturer, improperly disposed of significant amounts of DDE, a known endocrine disruptor, along with other toxic chemicals. As a result, these chemicals spilled into Lake Apopka, and the US Environmental Protection Agency was alerted. TCC shut down their operations in December 1980. In 1981, an EPA investigation began and the site was decommissioned and designated as a Superfund clean-up site. Despite their efforts, some of the chemicals seeped into the Florida aquifer and have proliferated into some of Central Florida's interconnected lakes and waterways. This chemical has caused health problems in much of the lake's wildlife population, and has caused infertility and other sexual disorders in several species, including alligators.
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