No city utility: why Kendall gets county water
Kendall is not a city. Miami-Dade County lists Kendall-area community councils as part of the unincorporated county, which means services like water come straight from the county rather than a municipal utility. For most homes that is the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD), which says it delivers drinking water to more than 2.8 million people a day.
Your water bill is the quickest proof. If it says Miami-Dade Water and Sewer, the facts on this page apply to you. If you have no water bill at all, you are probably on a private well, and the Kendall well water page is the better place to start.
The plant on SW 87th Avenue
WASD runs three regional plants that feed one shared distribution system. Its 2025 Water Quality Report says the Alexander Orr, Jr. Water Treatment Plant serves customers who live south of SW 8 Street to approximately SW 264 Street, a band that takes in Kendall, Kendall West and The Hammocks. County documents place the plant at 6800 SW 87th Avenue.
At Orr, groundwater from the Biscayne Aquifer receives lime treatment to reduce hardness, then it is disinfected and filtered. That softening step at the plant is one reason scale in a Kendall home can be milder than people expect, and another reason to test before buying a softener.
What changed recently: fluoride and PFAS reporting
Two recent changes are worth knowing:
- Fluoride. WASD's 2025 report says the Orr, Preston and Hialeah plants stopped adding fluoride as of June 6, 2025, under County Resolution R-370-25 and Florida Senate Bill 700. Since then, main-system fluoride has ranged about 0.1 to 0.3 ppm from natural sources. See fluoride filters in Kendall.
- PFAS. The same report lists PFAS results for the main system and says initial compliance monitoring under the new federal rules is underway. See PFAS filters in Kendall.
Chloramine, irrigation wells and the problems Kendall homeowners call about
WASD adds ammonia so it combines with chlorine and forms chloramine, which keeps protecting the water through miles of pipe. It is the pool-like smell some people notice in the shower. A few times a year WASD temporarily switches to free chlorine while it maintains the system, and the smell can change for a couple of weeks.
Many Kendall yards are watered with sprinklers, and some properties pull that water from a shallow private irrigation well instead of the county line. Well water often carries iron, which is behind the orange streaks on stucco, sidewalks and pool decks. County watering rules apply to wells too: odd-numbered addresses on Wednesday and Saturday, even-numbered on Thursday and Sunday, before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m.
Other common concerns: a rotten-egg smell from the hot water side, spots on shower glass, and skin that feels tight after a shower.
Matching a system to a Kendall home
| Situation | Usually worth considering |
|---|---|
| Single-family home on WASD water | A whole-home city water system for chloramine taste and odor, often paired with RO at the kitchen sink |
| Townhome or condo along the Kendall Drive corridor | Under-sink alkaline reverse osmosis, which fits inside a cabinet |
| Scale is the main complaint | A softener, but only after a hardness test; see softener vs. filter |
| Home or yard on a private well | Well treatment configured from that well's test |
Not sure which applies? The drinking water system guide walks through the choices.
Costs, testing and next steps
There is no honest price before the test, because the right system depends on what is in your water and how your plumbing is laid out. These pages explain what moves the number: water filtration cost in Kendall, reverse osmosis cost and water softener cost. Living Water also offers financing through its financing partners; you apply with a credit application and can add a co-applicant.
To start, read how the free home water test works in Kendall, then call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974.
All Kendall water guides
- Whole-home filtration
- Water softeners
- Under-sink reverse osmosis
- Water filtration cost
- Water testing
- Rotten-egg smell
- Orange and rust stains
- Well water treatment
- Chlorine and chloramine filters
- Reverse osmosis cost
- Water softener cost
- Softener vs. filter
- PFAS filters
- Fluoride filters
- Dry skin after showering
- Hard water spots and scale
- Best drinking water system
Jorge also serves nearby Miami, Doral and Homestead.
https://www.miamidade.gov/resources/water/documents/2025-water-quality-report.pdf
https://www.miamidade.gov/global/water/water-supply-and-treatment.page
https://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/Matters/Y2024/241475.pdf
https://gisweb.miamidade.gov/GISSelfServices/Data/HTML/CommunityCouncil.htm
https://www.miamidade.gov/global/water/conservation/outdoor-water-restrictions.page
https://www.cityofdoral.com/News-articles/Miami-Dade-Water-and-Sewer-Department-WASD-Chlorine-Conversion
Updated 2026-10-17 · Living Waters · Jorge Canela, Water Quality Specialist