Water Smells Like Rotten Eggs in Miami Gardens

Step one: hot only, or hot and cold?

• Only the hot water smells: the water heater is the likely source. Bacteria in the tank can react with a magnesium anode rod and produce hydrogen sulfide. This happens on city water too, especially when the heater sits unused for a while.
• Hot and cold both smell, at every tap: on city water this is unusual, so call your utility first. On well water, sulfur in the aquifer is a common cause.
• Only one sink smells: the drain, not the water, is often to blame. Fill a glass, step away from the sink and smell the glass.
• Only the sprinklers smell: that is the irrigation well.

City water homes: the water heater

NMB Water and WASD both deliver disinfected water with a chloramine residual, so sulfur from the source is not the typical city-water story. The water heater is. Common fixes, best handled by a licensed plumber or the heater's manufacturer guidance, include flushing the tank, disinfecting it, or replacing the magnesium anode with a different type. NMB Water's own report recommends flushing your water heater and household plumbing at least twice a year as general maintenance.

A water treatment system is not usually the first fix for a heater smell. Jorge will tell you if that is what he sees.

Well water homes: sulfur from the ground

Some Miami Gardens properties use wells, most often for irrigation. Well water skips utility treatment, so whatever the aquifer carries comes out of the tap or sprinkler. Hydrogen sulfide can occur naturally in groundwater. If the well also supplies the house, treatment is configured from the well's test. Options include:

• Aeration, which lets the gas escape before the water reaches the house.
• Oxidation and filtration, which converts sulfide so a filter can catch it.
• Carbon for low levels.

See aeration vs. filtration and the well water system.

Do not confuse sulfur with chlorine

Once a year the utilities switch from chloramine to free chlorine for about two weeks; WASD's 2025 conversion ran October 13 to 26, and NMB Water has done the same at its Norwood plant. A stronger chemical smell during those weeks is chlorine, not sulfur, and it passes. Rotten egg is a different, distinct odor.

What Jorge tests

• Hot versus cold water, at more than one tap.
• Iron, which often travels with sulfur in well water.
• pH and hardness, which affect the treatment choice.
• Disinfectant level on city water, to confirm the supply is normal.

Book

Call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974 for a free in-home test. If the fix is a plumber's job on the water heater, he will say so.

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