Unincorporated, and what that means for water
The U.S. Census Bureau maps Tamiami as a Census Designated Place, a statistical area for a community that has no city government of its own. Miami-Dade County provides local services directly, and the county's utility, WASD, provides the water and usually the sewer. There is no Tamiami water department to call, and no city water report to look for. Everything on this page comes from WASD's annual Water Quality Report.
If you receive a Miami-Dade Water and Sewer bill, you are on WASD. If you have no water bill, you likely have a private well; start with well water in Tamiami.
Being unincorporated also shapes who you call. Water outages, main breaks, billing and water quality questions go to WASD. Code, zoning and other local matters go to Miami-Dade County departments. Questions about a private well go to a licensed well contractor and, for testing, a certified lab, with guidance from the Florida Department of Health.
Your side of the Trail picks your plant
The Census Bureau's current map of the Tamiami CDP runs from about Florida's Turnpike west toward SW 142 Avenue, and from around Bird Road north across SW 8 Street. WASD's 2025 report describes plant service areas using the same street:
| Where you live | Plant WASD names | Treatment WASD describes |
|---|---|---|
| South of SW 8 Street | Alexander Orr, Jr. | Lime treatment to reduce hardness, disinfection, filtration |
| North of SW 8 Street | Hialeah and John E. Preston | Hialeah: like Orr plus air stripping. Preston: enhanced softening for higher natural organics, then air stripping |
WASD says all three plants draw from the Biscayne Aquifer and supply a common distribution system, so the boundary is a general rule, not a wall. For water quality questions WASD lists 786-552-4181 (Orr) and 786-552-4738 (Preston).
What the 2025 report says for the main system
- Disinfectant: chloramine, averaging 2.5 ppm (range not detected to 4.0) against a limit of 4. WASD periodically switches to free chlorine for a couple of weeks of maintenance. See chloramine filters.
- Fluoride: no longer added since June 6, 2025; natural levels about 0.1 to 0.3 ppm. See fluoride.
- PFAS: a main-system table is included, with initial compliance monitoring underway. See PFAS.
- Disinfection byproducts: total trihalomethanes 50 ppb and haloacetic acids 34 ppb as locational running annual averages, under limits of 80 and 60.
- Lead service lines: WASD's inventory is at miamidade.gov/knowyourpipes.
WASD's treatment chart also shows a phosphorus compound added to reduce corrosion in the distribution system, and the report notes that Hialeah and Preston water goes through air stripping to remove volatile organic compounds. Those steps happen at the plant; nothing you install at home replaces them.
Problems Tamiami homeowners call about
- Pool-like smell in showers from chloramine.
- Spots and scale, milder than raw groundwater would leave because all three plants soften, but rarely zero.
- Rotten-egg smell on hot taps, usually the water heater.
- Orange stains on walls and pool decks from irrigation wells.
- Tight skin after a shower, a comfort question we test, not treat medically.
Each of these has its own page because the causes are different. A rotten-egg smell on hot taps is a water heater question, not a filtration question. Orange stains on a garden wall are an irrigation question, not a tap water question. Pool-like smell in the shower is chloramine, and that one is a filtration question. Sorting the problem first keeps you from buying the wrong equipment.
Matching a system to your home
| Situation | Usually worth considering |
|---|---|
| Single-family home, chloramine bothers you everywhere | Whole-home city water system |
| Townhome or condo, drinking water is the priority | Under-sink alkaline RO |
| Scale keeps coming back | Hardness test, then maybe a softener; see softener vs. filter |
| Restaurant, laundry, gym or office on the Trail | An ion-exchange softening plant sized to the equipment |
| Private drinking well | Well treatment from the well's test |
Unsure? Read the drinking water system guide.
Costs, financing and the free test
Jorge gives you an itemized quote after the free test; there is no honest price before it. Cost drivers are explained in water filtration cost, reverse osmosis cost and water softener cost. Living Water offers financing through its financing partners; you apply with a credit application, and a co-applicant can apply with you. Learn how the home water test works.
All Tamiami water guides
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, PFAS, fluoride, well water.
Costs: filtration, reverse osmosis, softener. Testing: home water testing.
Nearby: Westchester, Kendall, Sweetwater and Doral. Call, text or WhatsApp (305) 793-5974.
https://www.miamidade.gov/resources/water/documents/2025-water-quality-report.pdf
https://www.miamidade.gov/global/water/water-supply-and-treatment.page
https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=BASENAME%3D%27Tamiami%27+AND+STATE%3D%2712%27&outFields=NAME,LSADC,FUNCSTAT&returnGeometry=true&f=json
https://www.cityofdoral.com/News-articles/Miami-Dade-Water-and-Sewer-Department-WASD-Chlorine-Conversion
https://www.miamidade.gov/global/water/water-quality-reports.page
Updated 2026-10-17 · Living Waters · Jorge Canela, Water Quality Specialist