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.

Sebastian Stan, a best actor contender this awards season for two performances that have brought him widespread acclaim — he plays a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice and a man with neurofibromatosis who undergoes facial reconstructive surgery in A Different Man — will receive the Precious Gem Award at the Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival GEMS event, the fest announced on Monday.

Stan, 42, will be celebrated at an event that will kick off on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 5pm EST, at MDC Wolfson Auditorium in downtown Miami. To begin with, he will sit down with yours truly for a career-retrospective conversation that will be recorded for subsequent posting as an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. Then, the fest will present him with his award.

The Precious Gem Award is the festival’s signature award, reserved for “one-of-a-kind artists whose contributions to cinema are lasting and unforgettable.” Past recipients include Pedro Almodóvar, Penélope Cruz, Isabelle Huppert, Rita Moreno, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Patricia Clarkson.

“We are thrilled to honor Sebastian Stan with our prestigious Precious Gem Award to celebrate his impressive acting achievements, including his transformative performances in this year’s The Apprentice and A Different Man,” Lauren Cohen, the fest’s programming director, said in a statement. “We’re also excited to partner with The Hollywood Reporter to bring Scott Feinberg and the celebrated Awards Chatter podcast to Miami.”

Stan is perhaps best known for playing Bucky Barnes in seven beloved Marvel films: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019). He has also done additional standout work in films such as I, Tonya (2017), Destroyer (2018) and Dumb Money (2023), and received a Critics Choice Award nomination for the limited series Political Animals (2012) and an Emmy nomination for the limited series Pam & Tommy (2022).

For A Different Man, which he also exexcutive produced, he was awarded the Silver Bear for best leading performance at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.

This year’s Miami Film Festival GEMS event will run Oct. 30-Nov. 3.