Chain of Lakes (Winter Haven)
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The Chain of Lakes is a famous series of lakes in Central Florida. There are two chains of lakes, the northern chain and the southern chain. The northern chain extends across three cities: Winter Haven, Lake Alfred, and Lake Hamilton. It has ten lakes, connected by a series of canals.[1] The ten lakes on the northern chain are Lake Haines, Lake Rochelle, Lake Echo, Lake Conine, Lake Fannie, Lake Smart, Lake Henry, Lake Hamilton, Middle Lake Hamilton, and Little Lake Hamilton.[2]
The southern chain is located almost entirely within the city of Winter Haven. It has 16, sometimes 18, lakes connected by a series of canals.[1] The principal 16 lakes on the southern chain are Lake Howard, Lake Cannon, Lake Shipp, Lake Jessie, Lake Hartridge, Lake Lulu, Lake Roy, Lake Eloise, Little Lake Eloise, Lake Winterset, Little Lake Winterset, Lake May, Lake Mirror, Lake Idylwild, Spring Lake and Lake Summit.[2][3]
Winter Haven and the chain of lakes sit at the headwaters of the Peace River basin.[2] The southern chain has a total surface area of approximately 4,331 acres (1,753 ha).[2] The largest lake in the southern chain is Lake Eloise, with a surface area of 1,174 acres (475 ha).[2] The smallest lake in the southern chain is Spring Lake, with a surface area of 24 acres (9.7 ha).[2]
Paleolimnological studies have shown that the chain of lakes should have naturally high levels of tannins, which are caused by detritus from plants in the water. These tannins create the brown color characteristic in many lakes and slow-moving rivers in Florida. Currently, the majority of the lakes in both chains are officially listed as 'impaired' by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.[4] Impairment is based on the whether a lake meets its "designated uses", often referred; these lakes are designated as "fishable/swimmable". Examples of other designations include drinking water, shellfish propagation, and industrial use. The impaired lakes on the southern chain are Lulu, Shipp, May, Howard, Mirror, Cannon, Jessie, Idylwild, Spring, and Roy. The impaired lakes on the northern chain are Conine, Smart, Haines, Rochelle, and Hamilton.[4] These lakes have TSI numbers below 60.
The chain of lakes, as the headwaters of the Peace River, are important to the hydrological and environmental health of the region. The city of Winter Haven, Polk County, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the state of the Florida, and the federal government all have working projects to improve the water quality levels within the chain of lakes. Sometimes these projects work well with each other; sometimes they do not.[4] Rapid urbanization around the chain of lakes threatens their long-term environmental health. Greater care by the residents in the area will be required to preserve the chain of lakes for future generations.