Water Filtration & Treatment in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea

Two water suppliers in one small town

The Town's Utilities page is direct about it: neighbors in the south section receive drinking water from the City of Fort Lauderdale, and neighbors in the north section receive it from the City of Pompano Beach. The Town's Public Works page splits its water emergency numbers at Pine Avenue:

The easiest way to confirm your supplier is the name on your water bill. That name tells you which annual Water Quality Report describes your tap.

South section: Fort Lauderdale water

Fort Lauderdale's 2025 Water Quality Report says the city draws groundwater from the Biscayne Aquifer and treats it at one of two plants: Fiveash, a lime-softening plant, or Peele-Dixie, a nanofiltration plant. The water is filtered and aerated, then disinfected with chloramines. The report lists chloramines at an average of 2.3 parts per million in 2025, with results from 1.9 to 2.8, and sodium at 28.2 ppm.

North section: Pompano Beach water

Pompano Beach's 2025 report is addressed to customers in Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Water is pumped from the Biscayne Aquifer at two wellfield sites, then membrane- and lime-softened, filtered, optimized for corrosion control and disinfected. Chlorine and chloramines are listed at a highest running annual average of 3.36 ppm, with individual results from 0.61 to 4.0. The city's water page says the hardness is typically 1 to 2 grains.

What is the same on both sides of Pine Avenue

• Source: Biscayne Aquifer groundwater for both utilities.
• Softened at the plant: both soften before delivery, so a household softener is often unnecessary on city water.
• Chloramine disinfection: the chemical taste or smell some residents notice. See chloramine filters.
• No added fluoride: both utilities stopped adding fluoride in 2025 under Florida law; small natural amounts remain. See fluoride filters.

The difference is mostly in the numbers. Pompano's reported chloramine average is higher than Fort Lauderdale's, and the two plants use different combinations of lime softening and membranes. That is why Jorge asks which side of town you are on before he tests.

Lead is another place where the two utilities report a little differently. Pompano Beach says its service line inventory confirmed no utility-owned lead service lines and offers an address lookup map. Fort Lauderdale points residents to its lead service line inventory at ftlcity.info/serviceline. Plumbing inside your home is your own, and older fixtures are worth a look during any test.

What fits a home by the beach

• Oceanfront condo or apartment: most owners cannot change the building's main line, so under-sink alkaline RO is the practical upgrade.
• Single-family home or villa: a whole-home city water system for chloramine at every tap, often paired with RO in the kitchen.
• Hotel, restaurant or other business along A1A: an ion-exchange softening plant where equipment needs scale protection, after testing. See water softeners.
• Property with a well: a well water system configured from the well's own test.

Every Lauderdale-By-The-Sea 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 after showering, PFAS, fluoride, well water.

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

How a visit works

Call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974. He tests at your kitchen tap, explains each reading in plain words and compares it with your utility's report, Fort Lauderdale's or Pompano Beach's. If nothing is needed, he says so. If a system fits, you get an itemized quote. 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