Water Filtration & Treatment in Miami Beach

Two utilities, one glass of water

Miami Beach is unusual among South Florida cities. It does not treat water, but it is more than a pass-through:

• WASD pumps groundwater from the Biscayne Aquifer on the mainland, treats it, and sends it across the bay to the city. Miami Beach's 2024 Water Quality Report says the city receives water primarily from the Hialeah and John E. Preston plants.
• The City of Miami Beach buys that water as a wholesale customer and distributes it across its more-than-7-square-mile island to about 10,000 water customers: single-family homes, condominiums, apartments, businesses, hotels and schools.

That is why there are two reports worth reading: WASD's system report, and the City of Miami Beach's own annual Water Quality Report, which includes results from the city's distribution system.

How the water is treated before it crosses the bay

Water for the Hialeah and Preston plants comes only from the Biscayne Aquifer. WASD says Hialeah water is lime-treated and gets air stripping to remove volatile organic compounds. Preston's source water has more natural organic material, so it goes through a process WASD calls enhanced softening, then air stripping towers. WASD adds ammonia so chlorine forms chloramine, the disinfectant that keeps working through long pipelines, including the mains that cross Biscayne Bay.

The city adds its own layer: licensed distribution operators and a sampling plan with daily, monthly, yearly and three-year testing, and more than 3,000 samples a year according to its report.

Fluoride and the yearly chlorine switch

Miami Beach's report notes that, as of summer 2025, fluoride is no longer added to the supply; WASD's plants discontinued it as of June 6, 2025, and natural levels have been about 0.1 to 0.3 ppm since. Separately, WASD switches from chloramine to free chlorine for a couple of weeks during routine maintenance, and the city has posted notices that residents may notice a chlorine taste or smell then.

Condos, towers and older buildings

Much of Miami Beach lives in condominiums and apartment buildings, from mid-century low-rises to oceanfront towers. In a building, water passes through shared risers and often building pumps and tanks before reaching your unit, and you rarely control the main line. That shapes what fits:

Homeowners also own the service line between the city meter and the home. The city publishes a Water Service Line Inventory Map through its Service-line Integrity Program.

Smells, stains and the city's pipes

Because Miami Beach homes drink treated city water, a rotten-egg smell is more often the water heater than the water, and orange marks on walls or walkways usually trace back to an irrigation source rather than the tap. Pipes matter too. The city is replacing aging infrastructure, including the aerial water main crossings on the Venetian Causeway, which it ranked first on its list of critical assets, and an aerial main along 41 Street that is being upgraded to a 20-inch pipe. Main work and flushing can briefly stir up sediment; running the cold tap usually clears it. Inside a building, older risers and fixtures can affect taste and color at a single unit, which is why Jorge tests at your own tap.

Miami Beach water guides

• Chlorine & chloramine filters and dry skin after showering
• Hard water spots & scale and softener vs. filter
• Best drinking water system, PFAS filters and fluoride filters
• Rotten-egg smell, orange & rust stains and well water
• Home water testing
• Costs: filtration, reverse osmosis, softener

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

The free in-home test

1. Call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974.
2. He tests the water at your tap, in your unit or house.
3. He explains taste, odor and scale results in plain words.
4. He recommends what fits, or tells you nothing is needed. No obligation.

Jorge also serves Miami and the rest of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. See how it works.

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