Water Filtration & Treatment in Key Biscayne

How water reaches the island

Key Biscayne sits at the end of the Rickenbacker Causeway, with no wellfield or treatment plant of its own. The Village's Comprehensive Master Plan describes the whole village as served by the WASD distribution system, fed by a pair of mains, one 12-inch and one 24-inch, that follow Crandon Boulevard into the village.

The same plan notes that WASD's Alexander Orr, Jr. plant is the closest regional plant to Key Biscayne, but because WASD's system is interconnected, its three regional plants are treated as one system. In other words, you cannot point to a single plant and say "that is my water" every day of the year.

What WASD does to the water

According to WASD's 2025 Water Quality Report, the Alexander Orr, Jr. plant draws from the Biscayne Aquifer and uses lime treatment to reduce hardness, then disinfects and filters. WASD adds chlorine and then ammonia, which combine into chloramine, the disinfectant that stays active through long pipelines like the run across Biscayne Bay. A phosphorus compound is added for corrosion control in the mains and in household plumbing.

For the main system in 2025, WASD reports chloramines at 2.5 parts per million, with results ranging from not detected to 4.0, against a maximum of 4. Once a year WASD switches its regional plants to free chlorine for about two weeks; in 2025 that ran October 13 to 26. During those weeks the water can smell more like a pool. See chlorine and chloramine filters on Key Biscayne.

Fluoride, lead lines and the report

• Fluoride: WASD's regional plants stopped adding fluoride on June 6, 2025, under County Resolution R-370-25 and Florida Senate Bill 700. WASD says natural levels have run about 0.1 to 0.3 ppm since. More on the fluoride page.
• Service lines: WASD has submitted a lead service line inventory, searchable at miamidade.gov/knowyourpipes. Plumbing inside a building is the owner's or association's responsibility.
• Your report: because WASD serves the island directly, the WASD annual Water Quality Report is your report. Look at the "Main System" column.

Island living: towers, villas and single-family homes

Key Biscayne mixes oceanfront condominium buildings with single-family streets and townhome communities. The water arriving at the curb is the same; what happens after the meter is not.

• Condo and apartment towers: water usually passes through building pumps, sometimes storage tanks, and shared risers before it reaches your unit. Taste and color at your faucet can reflect the building as much as WASD. Most owners choose an under-sink alkaline RO in the kitchen, which normally stays inside the unit. Check your association's rules for plumbing work, approved contractors and insurance certificates before any install.
• Single-family homes: a whole-home city water system treats chloramine at every shower and tap, often paired with RO for drinking water.
• Hotels, restaurants, clubs and gyms: an ion-exchange softening plant may protect ice machines, dishwashers and boilers. See water softeners on Key Biscayne.

What Key Biscayne residents usually ask about

Salt air, sun and long hot showers make comfort questions common: a tight-skin feeling after showering, spots on shower glass, and the pool smell during WASD's free chlorine weeks. A rotten-egg smell in an island home is far more likely a water heater issue than a water supply issue, because every property is on public water; see sulfur smell. Orange marks on a pool deck or wall usually trace back to metal fixtures or an irrigation source, covered on the iron stains page.

Every Key Biscayne 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, hard water spots, dry skin, PFAS, fluoride, wells.

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

Book a free test on the island

1. Call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974.
2. He comes to your unit or house and tests at your tap.
3. He explains the chloramine, hardness and dissolved solids readings in plain words.
4. He recommends a system only if it fits, or tells you nothing is needed.

Living Water offers financing through its financing partners; you apply with a credit application, and a co-applicant can apply with you. Jorge also serves Miami and the rest of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

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