Water Smells Like Rotten Eggs in Hialeah

In a Hialeah home on city water, a rotten-egg smell is most often coming from the water heater, where the anode rod and warm, still water can produce hydrogen sulfide gas. That is why the smell is usually stronger from the hot tap. If both hot and cold smell, look at any softener or filter in the line, or at a private or irrigation well if the property has one. Jorge Canela can test your water free and tell you which it is.

Hialeah's water arrives already treated

The City of Hialeah Department of Public Works delivers water that comes from two places: Miami-Dade County's Biscayne Aquifer plants and the Hialeah Reverse Osmosis plant, which draws brackish water from the Upper Floridan Aquifer about 1,400 feet down. The RO plant degasifies its water before it goes into the pipes, and the county water is treated at regional plants. So a sulfur smell that starts at your faucet usually starts inside the house.

Find the source in five minutes

Here is a version of the check the Florida Department of Health recommends:

Run the cold kitchen tap for a minute and smell it.
Run the hot tap and smell it. Heat releases the gas, so the difference is easy to notice.
If you have a softener or filter, try an outdoor spigot that bypasses it.

What you notice	Most likely source
Hot only	Water heater
Hot and cold, but only on treated water	Bacteria in the softener or filter
Strong at first, fades as it runs	Bacteria in the well or plumbing
Strong and steady from every tap on a well	Hydrogen sulfide in the groundwater

The water heater fix

Tank heaters use a sacrificial anode rod to protect the tank from corrosion. In some water, that rod reacts and helps produce hydrogen sulfide, especially when the tank sits unused or the temperature is set low. A plumber can flush the tank or swap to a different anode material. Filtration ahead of the heater generally will not stop odor that forms inside it, and Jorge will not sell you a system for a heater problem.

Softeners, old filters and wells

A neglected softener or filter can grow sulfur bacteria. Servicing or sanitizing it often clears the smell.

Irrigation wells on some Hialeah-area lots draw raw groundwater for sprinklers. That water can smell of sulfur outdoors even though the house water does not.

Private drinking wells are uncommon inside city limits. If you have one, treatment for hydrogen sulfide is usually aeration, oxidation, or carbon adsorption, chosen from the test. See aeration vs. filtration for sulfur smells.

When to call the city

If a strong odor comes from every cold tap on city water, or your water turns discolored, contact Hialeah Water & Sewer at 305-556-3800. The city's Alert Center also posts water advisories. For a free check of your own taps, call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974.

Sources:
https://www.floridahealth.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/well-water-facts-odor-staining.pdf
https://www.hialeahfl.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=534
https://www.miamidade.gov/water/library/reports/water-quality-2024.pdf
https://www.hialeahfl.gov/1040/Water-Sewer

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

Common questions

Why does only my hot water smell like eggs?

That pattern almost always points to the water heater, where the anode rod and warm water can produce hydrogen sulfide. A plumber can flush the tank or change the anode.

Can a water softener cause a sulfur smell?

Yes. The Florida Department of Health notes that sulfur bacteria can grow in a softener. If only softened water smells, service the softener.

Does Hialeah's RO plant water smell of sulfur?

The plant degasifies the water as part of treatment before it enters the distribution system, so a sulfur smell at the tap usually starts in the home.

Who do I call about odor in Hialeah city water?

Hialeah Water & Sewer at 305-556-3800. For a free in-home test, call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974.

Is the sulfur smell a health problem?

The DOH says sulfur bacteria are not harmful and the smell usually does not reflect how clean well water is, but well owners should still test regularly for coliform bacteria.

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