Miami, FL

How do we make water drinkable? A look at the process at a Miami-Dade treatment facility

Published

2 years ago

September 23, 2024

How do we make water drinkable? A look at the process at a Miami-Dade treatment facility

What we do and how we do it impacts whether our drinking water is dirty or clean. Pollution can travel below the land surface and contaminate our water supply.

But over the years, processes have been developed to make sure the water pumped to your home is safe, clear, and drinkable.

NBC6 Responds visited the Alexander Orr Water Treatment Facility operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department.

Water from this water treatment facility ends up in homes South of SW 8th Street to 248th Street in Miami-Dade County. But with multiple plants across the county, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department provides drinking water for about 2.3 million people.

“In Miami-Dade County, the water quality is extremely high, and I am very comfortable with people drinking tap water. I drink the tap water,” said Roy Coley, the Director of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department.

He showed NBC6 the ins and outs of what it takes to filter and disinfect your drinking water.

How water is cleaned for drinking

When water is pumped from the aquifer to the Miami-Dade Water and Treatment facility, lime is added as the first step in a long process.

Lime helps to soften the water, purify, and eliminate cloudiness.

Next, disinfectants like chlorine and ammonia are used. Together they create what is known as chloramine. This helps to protect the water against bacteria.

The water then travels through a series of filters to remove the remaining chemicals.

Before the water is pumped out to your house, two more chemicals are added: a small amount of fluoride and a compound to reduce corrosion as the water travels through pipes in the distribution system.

Because things like bacteria, heavy metals, and chemicals can leach through corroded pipes, microbiologists and chemists test the water multiple times before it gets to your home.

Each year, roughly 320,000 analyses of water samples are taken to make sure contaminants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency are under the federal limits for what’s considered safe in our drinking water.

Water districts are required to publish a drinking water quality report each year. It’s a snapshot of the water quality once a year and it shows contamination levels.

This report is published online by your local water district and is also distributed through the mail.

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Miami, FL

Former Titans GM mock Miami right tackle to the Cleveland Browns at 6

Published

9 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Former Titans GM mock Miami right tackle to the Cleveland Browns at 6

The Cleveland Browns traded for an extended right tackle, former Houston Texan Tytus Howard, at the start of free agency as they began their rebuild of the offensive line that was awful in 2025. But Howard has played every position on the offensive line except for center, so if it’s all about getting your best five on the field, which it should be, there’s a chance Howard doesn’t play at right tackle in 2026.

While doing a mock draft on Peter Schrager’s podcast, former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon had the Browns drafting Miami (FL) right tackle sixth overall. He talked about the issue with Howard, but said Mauigoa could either take over the tackle spot or be a really good guard.

Carthon said he knows that Mauigoa would be one of their best five, whether it is at guard or tackle. Some will say that a guy who may be best at guard isn’t worth the sixth overall pick, and I have to disagree. You should draft the best football players, and Francis Mauigoa is my highest-rated offensive lineman and seventh overall. It might be at guard, but I have a good feeling that Mauigoa will find a home in the NFL as a high-quality offensive lineman.

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Miami, FL

Inventory drops for first time since 2023 as sales rebound across coastal Miami, beaches

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2026

Press Room

Inventory drops for first time since 2023 as sales rebound across coastal Miami, beaches

Inventory of homes and condos across the coastal Miami mainland and Miami Beach and the barrier island markets fell in the first quarter, marking the first big inventory drops since 2023.

The Corcoran Group’s first quarter reports don’t cover all of Miami-Dade County, but they offer insight into how the coastal markets, which have a higher share of luxury properties, are performing.

In Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Surfside, Miami Beach, Fisher Island and Key Biscayne, single-family home inventory dropped 15 percent annually to 398 listings, and condo inventory was down 13 percent to 3,919 listings.

On Miami’s coastal mainland markets, which include Aventura, Miami Shores, Upper East Side, Edgewater, downtown Miami, Brickell, Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, inventory slipped 4 percent to 4,584 condo listings and 555 single-family listings, down 6 percent year-over-year.

Here’s a closer look at the market:

Miami Beach and the barrier islands

Single-family sales rose 13 percent year-over-year to 85 closings, the first time they have increased since the second quarter of 2024. Condo closings rose 15 percent to 693 closings, the first increase since the last quarter of 2024.

Pricing dropped, with the median price of single-family homes down 4 percent to $3.5 million and the median condo price down 9 percent to $640,000. The average price per square foot was nearly flat at $1,119.

Still, buyers set records with their purchases. Billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg paid $170 million for the waterfront mansion at 7 Indian Creek Island Road, and Starbucks billionaire Howard Schultz paid $44 million, or $7,949 per square foot, for a penthouse at the Four Seasons Residences at The Surf Club.

Coastal mainland

Sales of single-family homes on the coastal mainland rose 16 percent to 220 closings. While markets like Coral Gables experienced declines in condo and single-family home sales, Coconut Grove home sales surged — up over 100 percent for single-family homes to 47 closings and up 55 percent to 87 condo closings. Condo sales rose 13 percent to 759 closings.

The median price of single-family homes across the coastal mainland rose 11 percent to just over $2 million. The median price of condos increased slightly, up 1 percent, to $602,000.

The priciest deals in the first quarter were the $32 million trade of 12 Tahiti Beach Island Road in Coral Gables, and the $19.8 million sale of a penthouse at Vita at Grove Isle.

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