Who is Hialeah's water utility?

The City of Hialeah Department of Public Works delivers water to city customers and publishes the annual Water Quality Report. Miami-Dade County operates the regional plants that supply most of the water.

If Hialeah already has an RO plant, why would I want RO at home?

The RO plant is one part of the supply, and its water travels through the city's pipes with a disinfectant added. An under-sink RO system polishes the water right at your kitchen faucet for drinking and cooking.

Does Hialeah water have chloramine?

The Miami-Dade water the city buys is disinfected with chloramine, and the city's report lists chloramine results for it. The RO plant water is disinfected with chlorine.

Do I need a softener on Hialeah city water?

Often not, because the county plant that supplies most of the water reduces hardness and the RO plant removes most dissolved minerals. A test at your tap shows whether one is worth it.

Water Filtration & Treatment in Hialeah

Q: Where does Hialeah's water come from?

From two aquifers. Most of it is purchased from Miami-Dade County, which draws from the Biscayne Aquifer. The Hialeah Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant, owned jointly by the city and county, draws from the deeper Upper Floridan Aquifer.

Two aquifers, one city

Most South Florida cities rely on a single aquifer. Hialeah draws on two.

The Biscayne Aquifer. The City of Hialeah's water quality reports explain that it purchases most of its water from Miami-Dade County. That water comes from the shallow Biscayne Aquifer and is treated at county plants, including the Hialeah Water Treatment Plant and the John E. Preston Water Treatment Plant, both owned and operated by Miami-Dade County.

The Upper Floridan Aquifer. The Hialeah Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant, jointly owned by the city and Miami-Dade County, pumps brackish water from about 1,400 feet down through six wells. Miami-Dade's 2024 Water Quality Report says its initial phase produces 7.5 million gallons a day, with half going into the City of Hialeah's distribution system and half into the county's.

How each source is treated

Hialeah Water Treatment Plant (county): treated similarly to the county's Alexander Orr, Jr. plant, where lime treatment reduces hardness, plus air stripping to remove volatile organic compounds.
John E. Preston plant (county): uses enhanced softening because its source water has more naturally occurring organic material, then air stripping.
Hialeah RO plant (city and county): pretreats the brackish water, forces it through semipermeable membranes that remove salts and other dissolved material, then adjusts pH, degasifies and adds chlorine for disinfection.

All of it is treated to meet federal and state standards before it reaches homes. Because the city receives water from more than one plant, testing at your own tap is the clearest way to know what you are getting.

What this means at your faucet

The county's water is disinfected with chloramine, made by combining chlorine with ammonia so the disinfectant lasts through the pipes. The city's 2025 Water Quality Report lists chloramine results for the Miami-Dade water and chlorine results for the RO plant water. Either way, a disinfectant taste or smell at the tap is normal, and it is the most common reason Hialeah families look at filtration.

Living Water describes its Puronics whole-home systems as removing chlorine and chloramine, and its under-sink alkaline RO systems give you a dedicated drinking water faucet.

Hialeah homes and the systems that fit them

Hialeah is largely single-family houses, townhomes and apartment buildings, plus busy commercial corridors such as West 49th Street.

Single-family house: a whole-home system on the main line, often with under-sink RO in the kitchen.
Apartment or rented unit: under-sink RO, which stays inside the unit. Ask the owner first.
Restaurant, laundry, car wash or shop: an ion-exchange softening plant where scale hurts equipment. See water softeners in Hialeah.
Private well: treatment configured from the well's test; see well water systems.

City water or well water in Hialeah?

Homes inside the City of Hialeah are served by the city's water system. Private wells are uncommon inside the city but show up in parts of the wider area. Well water skips utility treatment entirely, so the right equipment depends on that well's own test. The city vs. well water comparison explains the difference.

Your free water test in Hialeah

Call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974 and pick a time. He comes to your home, tests water from your tap, and explains each result in plain words. If a system would help, he recommends the one that fits your water and your home. If your water does not need one, he tells you. There is no obligation. More detail on home water testing in Hialeah.

More Hialeah pages and nearby areas

Jorge also serves neighboring Miami and Doral, plus Fort Lauderdale and the rest of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Esta página en español.

Sources:
https://www.hialeahfl.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=534
https://www.hialeahfl.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=75
https://www.hialeahfl.gov/174/Water-Quality-Reports---English
https://www.miamidade.gov/water/library/reports/water-quality-2024.pdf

Updated 2026-10-17 · Living Waters · Jorge Canela, Water Quality Specialist