Water Filtration & Treatment in Jupiter

A membrane town in a lime-softening region

Many South Florida utilities soften their water with lime. Jupiter went a different way. The Town says that in 1990 it studied growth and natural resources and built a reverse osmosis (RO) program that it describes as one of the largest brackish water desalination programs in the United States, able to produce more than 70 percent of the current average daily supply. Later it added nanofiltration (NF), which replaced its older conventional lime softening plant.

Both processes push water under high pressure through a semipermeable membrane. According to the Town's 2025 Water Quality Report:

• 12 Floridan Aquifer wells, more than 1,500 feet deep, feed the RO plant with brackish water.
• 51 surficial aquifer wells, about 150 feet deep, feed the NF plant.

The Town's 10-year water supply plan lists the RO plant at 13.7 million gallons a day of finished water and the NF plant at 14.5. A small ion exchange plant built in 1999 adds alkalinity and lowers color when its water is blended in; the Town plans to retire it and add another NF train.

Who is on Jupiter water

Jupiter Utilities serves more than the town limits. Its 2025 water supply plan says the service area covers about 58 square miles: the Town of Jupiter, the Town of Juno Beach, and unincorporated parts of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, with 31,243 accounts as of December 2025.

The big exception is Jupiter Farms. The same plan says residents of that unincorporated community supply their own drinking water from private wells, while the Town serves only two commercial plazas there. If you live in Jupiter Farms, your water questions are well questions; see well water treatment in Jupiter.

Wastewater and reclaimed irrigation water are handled by a separate agency, the Loxahatchee River District, which delivers treated reuse water (it calls it IQ Water) to many communities, golf courses and parks for irrigation.

Disinfection: chloramine, plus a yearly free chlorine period

The Town disinfects with chloramines, a combination of chlorine and ammonia. Its 2025 report lists a highest running annual average of 2.99 parts per million, with individual samples from 0.6 to 4.4, against a maximum residual level of 4.

Once a year the Town switches to free chlorine to clean the distribution system. The 2026 maintenance ran from July 14 through August 4, and the Town notes many residents may taste or smell chlorine during that time. Fish owners and anyone using home dialysis need to remove both forms. See chloramine filters in Jupiter.

Fluoride, lead lines and other numbers

• Fluoride: the 2025 report says the Town does not add fluoride; a February 2023 sample showed 0.088 ppm, which occurs naturally in the surficial aquifer.
• Service lines: a 2024 inventory found no lead service lines in the Town's system.
• Disinfection byproducts: TTHM at 1.58 ppb and HAA5 at 4.82 ppb (highest locational running averages), far under limits of 80 and 60.
• Sodium: 46.8 ppm in February 2023.
• Testing: more than 7,000 tests a year, according to the Town.

Questions about the report go to 561-741-2735 or [email protected]. A Spanish accessible version is posted on the Town's Current Water Quality Report page.

What that means for a Jupiter home

Membrane-treated water starts with much of its dissolved mineral content already removed, so the usual South Florida complaint about scale is often smaller here. What people still notice is the disinfectant. That shapes the advice:

• Single-family home on Town water: a whole-home system for chloramine at every shower and faucet, sometimes with under-sink alkaline RO in the kitchen.
• Condo near the Inlet or along the Loxahatchee River: under-sink RO for drinking and cooking.
• Restaurant, gym or other business: a softening plant only if testing shows hardness where equipment needs protection. See water softeners in Jupiter.
• Jupiter Farms or any private well: a well water system configured from that well's test.

Every Jupiter topic

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, water spots and scale, dry skin after showering, PFAS, fluoride, well water.

Costs: filtration, reverse osmosis, softener. Testing: home water testing.

Nearby: West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach.

Book the free in-home test

1. Call, text or WhatsApp (305) 793-5974.
2. Jorge tests at your tap: total chlorine, hardness, dissolved solids and pH, or the well's numbers if you are on one.
3. He explains the results next to the Town's report, in plain words.
4. If something fits, you get an itemized quote. If nothing does, he says so.

Living Water offers financing through its financing partners; you apply with a credit application, and a co-applicant can apply with you.

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