Home Water Testing in Palmetto Bay

Testing on county water

For homes on WASD water, the official record is WASD's annual Water Quality Report, posted on miamidade.gov. It covers the Orr plant, chloramine (2.5 ppm on the main system in 2025), the end of added fluoride on June 6, 2025, and the full regulated-contaminant table. A home test answers the next question: what comes out of your tap after your service line, pipes and heater. Jorge measures total and free chlorine, hardness, TDS, pH and iron.

Testing a private well

Palmetto Bay still has private wells, partly because some streets only recently got county mains. The Florida Department of Health says private well owners are responsible for their own water, advises testing every year, and notes that bacteria and nitrate can reach wells from poorly maintained septic systems and fertilizer. With thousands of septic lots in the village, that annual lab test is worth taking seriously. DOH publishes a list of certified laboratories.

Jorge's in-home test complements the lab: hardness, iron, odor, pH and dissolved solids, which decide the equipment.

When a certified lab is the right call

• Bacteria and nitrate in a drinking well, every year.
• After a flood reaches a wellhead.
• When buying a home with a well.
• PFAS, which needs EPA lab methods.
• Lead at the tap on county water: WASD's lab offices at 786-552-4181 or 786-552-4738 provide lead sampling data, and the service line inventory is at miamidade.gov/knowyourpipes.

See home screening vs. lab analysis.

What happens during the visit

1. Jorge asks what you notice and whether you have a well, an irrigation well or both.
2. He tests at the kitchen and at the source that matters: the well spigot, an outdoor tap or the sprinkler line.
3. He explains each number.
4. If something fits, you get options and an itemized quote; if not, he says so.

More: what happens during a home water assessment.

Book it

Call, text or WhatsApp Jorge at (305) 793-5974. Good times to test: after moving in, after connecting to county water, when taste or smell changes, and before buying any equipment. Note that WASD's annual free chlorine weeks, September 28 to October 11 in 2026, change the smell on purpose.

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