Three water sources you might have
| Source | Used for | Main concerns |
|---|---|---|
| WASD county water | Indoors (and sometimes sprinklers) | Chloramine taste, scale |
| Private irrigation well | Sprinklers | Iron stains, sulfur smell |
| Lake or canal pump | Sprinklers | Stains, odor, debris |
| Private drinking well | Indoors | Bacteria, nitrate, iron, hardness, sulfur |
If you have running water but no WASD bill, you are likely on a private drinking well.
Florida's advice for drinking wells
- The owner is responsible for making sure the water is safe to drink.
- Test for bacteria and nitrate at least once a year.
- When buying or selling a home, test for coliform bacteria, nitrate and lead; most homeowners should test for lead every three years.
- Bacteria and nitrate can reach wells through poorly maintained septic systems, fertilizer or poorly built wells.
Those are certified-lab tests. Jorge's free assessment adds hardness, iron, odor, pH and dissolved solids, the numbers that decide equipment.
The Department of Health also suggests asking your county health department whether additional tests make sense, depending on land use near your well.
A shallow aquifer under a planned town
Miami Lakes sits on the Biscayne Aquifer, the same shallow limestone aquifer WASD pumps for its plants. Miami-Dade notes the aquifer lies just below ground level, which is why the county works to protect it and why what happens on the surface, like fertilizer and runoff, matters for anyone drawing from a private well.
How a well system is assembled
A well water system is built from the test: sediment filtration first, then iron and sulfur treatment, then softening, then any drinking-water stage, each protecting the next. Compare UV vs. reverse osmosis for well water.
Because each stage protects the next, skipping sediment or iron pre-treatment usually shortens the life of everything downstream.
Irrigation wells
If your well only feeds sprinklers, the usual complaint is orange staining. Treatment on the irrigation line, chosen from an iron test, is the fix. See orange stains in Miami Lakes. Miami-Dade's watering restrictions apply to wells: odd addresses Wednesday and Saturday, even addresses Thursday and Sunday, before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m.
Get the well tested
Call, text or WhatsApp (305) 793-5974. Jorge tests at the wellhead and indoors and tells you what equipment, if any, makes sense.
Bring any past lab results you have; they help show whether the water has changed over time.
https://www.floridahealth.gov/community-environmental-public-health/environmental-public-health/water-quality/drinking-water/private-wells/
https://www.miamidade.gov/global/water/water-supply-and-treatment.page
https://www.miamidade.gov/global/water/conservation/outdoor-water-restrictions.page
Updated 2026-10-17 · Living Waters · Jorge Canela, Water Quality Specialist