Delray's water system at a glance
| Item | What the city publishes |
|---|---|
| Utility | City of Delray Beach Water Utilities Department, serving about 70,000 residents |
| Source | 30 raw water wells in the East Coast Surficial Aquifer |
| Permit | South Florida Water Management District water use permit for up to 19.1 million gallons per day |
| Treatment | Aeration, lime softening in clarifiers (also removing color and iron), filtration, disinfection |
| Disinfectant | Chloramines |
| Customer service and emergencies | 561-243-7312 |
If your mailing address says Delray Beach but you live outside the city limits, check the utility name on your water bill. Use that provider's report, not the city's. Inside the city, the Water Utilities Department also handles wastewater: Delray and Boynton Beach jointly own the South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Facility, which turns most of its treated effluent into reclaimed water for irrigation.
How the lime softening plant works
The city describes the process step by step. Raw water arrives from the wells and is first aerated to remove natural gases. It is then blended with lime in settling tanks called clarifiers, which softens it and also removes color and iron. After that the water is filtered and disinfected. Aeration is the reason city water does not arrive with the sulfur smell that shallow groundwater can carry, and the lime step is why many homes on city water do not need a softener.
The 2025 report adds that the state's 2025 Source Water Assessment identified 27 potential sources of contamination near the city's wells, with low to moderate susceptibility levels, none of concern at this time. Shallow wells are close to the surface, which is why the city tracks what sits around them. The full assessment is posted on DEP's Source Water Assessment and Protection Program website.
A new plant is coming
The current plant is over 60 years old, the city says, and was not designed for new state and federal requirements taking effect in the next few years. A new plant designed by CDM Smith will replace the conventional lime softening plant with enhanced treatment technologies. Construction is expected to be completed by early 2028. Questions about the project go to the Utilities Department at 561-243-7100.
On its new plant page, the city also notes that the City Commission approved a water and sewer rate increase in May 2025, effective October 1, 2025. For homeowners, the practical point is that treatment may change after 2028. Buy home equipment for the water you have today, and read the first reports from the new plant when they come out.
Numbers from the 2025 Water Quality Report
- Chloramines: 3.7 ppm highest running average, results from 1.54 to 5.2 ppm, limit 4.
- Disinfection byproducts: TTHM 33.1 ppb (limit 80) and HAA5 22.5 ppb (limit 60).
- Fluoride: 0.54 ppm (February 2023 sample).
- Sodium: 31.8 ppm. Arsenic: 0.72 ppb (limit 10).
- Lead and copper: 90th percentile 3.7 ppb lead and 0.10 ppm copper in September 2025, no sites over the action level.
The city's service line inventory, completed between November 2022 and April 2024, found no lead service lines in its distribution system.
Reclaimed water and irrigation
Delray Beach has used reclaimed water since 2008. Where it is available to your property, the city prohibits using drinking water for irrigation, and an approved backflow preventer is required at your drinking water meter. Reclaimed water is not for drinking. Other properties irrigate with city water or a private well; well water is untreated and the usual source of orange stains. See orange stains in Delray Beach.
What fits a Delray Beach home
- House: a whole-home city water system for chloramine at every tap, often with under-sink alkaline RO in the kitchen.
- Condo or apartment: under-sink RO for drinking and cooking.
- Restaurant, gym or office: testing first; softening only where a measured number and equipment justify it. See softeners in Delray Beach.
- Private well: a well water system configured from the well's test.
Every Delray Beach topic, and how to book
Systems: whole-home filtration, water softeners, under-sink RO, best drinking water system, softener vs. filter.
Problems: chlorine and chloramine, rotten-egg smell, orange stains, hard water spots, dry skin after showering, PFAS, fluoride, well water.
Costs: filtration, reverse osmosis, softener. Testing: home water testing.
Call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974. Living Water offers financing through its financing partners; you apply with a credit application, and a co-applicant can apply with you.
https://www.delraybeachfl.gov/government/city-departments/utilities
https://www.delraybeachfl.gov/government/city-departments/utilities/drinking-water
https://www.delraybeachfl.gov/government/city-departments/utilities/drinking-water/consumer-confidence-report
https://www.delraybeachfl.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/15661/639117568552970000
https://www.delraybeachfl.gov/government/city-departments/new-water-treatment-plant
https://www.delraybeachfl.gov/government/city-departments/utilities/reclaimed-water
https://www.delraybeachfl.gov/government/city-departments/water-utilities/water-service-line-inventory
https://www.boynton-beach.org/384/Wastewater
Updated 2026-10-17 · Living Waters · Jorge Canela, Water Quality Specialist