Municipal Water Specialists
City water treatment for South Florida
Your utility disinfects the water — but chlorine, chloramine and hardness still come out of your tap. Here is how we fix that in every room of your home.
Your water source
What is really in city water
If your home is connected to a municipal supply in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton or the surrounding communities, your water is treated at a plant before it reaches you. That treatment keeps the water microbiologically safe — but it also means your tap water carries the disinfectants the utility used, plus whatever it picks up in miles of piping on the way to your home.
Most South Florida utilities disinfect with chlorine, and many have switched to cloramin — a combination of chlorine and ammonia that stays active longer in the distribution pipes. That stability is good for the utility but hard on your home: chloramine is difficult to remove with ordinary filters, it dries out skin and hair, it gives water a chemical taste, and it can degrade rubber seals and certain plumbing components over time.
Common city water problems
What we find in municipal water
Chlorine taste and smell
The swimming-pool taste in tap water is residual chlorine. It affects drinking water, coffee, tea, ice and cooking, and in the shower it vaporizes into the air you breathe.
Chloramine
Harder to remove than chlorine, chloramine passes straight through ordinary carbon filters. It dries skin and hair, fades laundry and can attack rubber plumbing parts. It needs catalytic carbon to be removed effectively.
Hard water scale
Florida's limestone aquifer makes city water hard. Calcium and magnesium leave white crust on faucets and shower glass, spots on dishes, and scale inside water heaters that drives up energy bills.
Disinfection byproducts
When chlorine reacts with organic matter it forms byproducts such as THMs. Quality carbon filtration helps reduce these along with VOCs, pesticides, herbicides and solvents.
Dry skin and dull hair
Chlorine and chloramine strip natural oils. Many customers tell us their skin and hair feel different within days of installing whole-home filtration.
Appliance wear
Scale and disinfectants shorten the life of water heaters, dishwashers, washing machines, coffee makers and ice machines — an invisible cost that adds up every year.
The city water workhorse
Whole-home catalytic carbon & KDF-55 filtration
For city water, the foundation of a BFW LLC system is a whole-home backwashing filter filled with catalytic carbon — activated carbon further treated to enhance its catalytic properties. Where ordinary carbon removes chlorine well but struggles with chloramine, catalytic carbon excels at breaking down chloramine and hydrogen sulfide, and helps degrade organic pollutants such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals and VOCs.
We pair it with KDF-55, a high-purity copper-zinc media made in the USA that uses redox reactions to reduce chlorine, heavy metals and bacteria while extending the life of the carbon bed. Every tap in the house — showers, kitchen, laundry — gets water without the chemical taste and smell. For simple installations we use an in-and-out Clack® head with bypass, which maximizes contact time and lets us service the tank without shutting off your water.
Complete city water systems
How we build a full city water solution
- 01
Carbon filtration first
The whole-home catalytic carbon and KDF-55 filter removes chlorine, chloramine, odors and bad taste, and protects everything downstream.
- 02
Softening for hardness
A Clack® WS1-based softener removes calcium and magnesium with metered regeneration that saves salt and water — ending scale, spots and dry skin. For many homes we combine carbon, KDF-55 and softening resin in one system.
- 03
Reverse osmosis for drinking
An under-sink RO alkaline system delivers the purest drinking and cooking water, with a final stage that adds back beneficial minerals for a crisp, balanced taste.
City water in Miami, Fort Lauderdale & Boca Raton
Each South Florida utility treats its water a little differently, and disinfectant levels and hardness vary from city to city and even season to season. That is why BFW LLC never recommends a system without testing first. Our free on-site water test measures your chlorine or chloramine level, hardness, pH and total dissolved solids right at your tap, so the system we design matches your actual water and your household size.
For businesses on city water — restaurants, cafés, offices, salons and clinics — consistent water quality protects equipment and improves everything you serve. We build high-flow, business-grade systems that shield ice machines, espresso equipment, boilers and dishwashers from scale and chlorine damage, with guidance on proper upkeep. On a private well instead? See our well water treatment page.
Ready to stop tasting the swimming pool in your tap water? Call or text 786-992-2773, or book a free water test through our contact page. We serve homes and businesses across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, in English and Spanish.
Preguntas frecuentes
City water questions
Is city water already safe to drink?
Utilities disinfect water to meet safety standards, but chlorine, chloramine, hardness and byproducts remain in what comes out of your tap. Filtration improves taste, protects your plumbing and removes what the utility added.
Why can't a regular carbon filter remove chloramine?
Chloramine is more stable than chlorine and reacts too slowly with ordinary activated carbon. Catalytic carbon is specifically treated to break chloramine down effectively.
Do I need a softener on city water?
Most South Florida city water is hard, so most homes benefit. A metered Clack® WS1 softener regenerates only when needed, saving salt and water.
Will a whole-home filter reduce my water pressure?
Not when it is sized correctly. We size tanks and valves to your bathrooms and peak flow so pressure stays strong even when several fixtures run at once.
Test de agua gratuito y demostración
Better city water, from every tap
Book a free water test — we measure chlorine, chloramine, hardness and more at your home or business.