North Miami Beach's drinking water showed six PFAS compounds in EPA UCMR5 testing in 2024, led by PFOS at 17 to 20 parts per trillion (ppt) and PFOA at 5.3 ppt, both above the EPA's 4 ppt limits. The utility draws mainly from the Biscayne Aquifer, which is unusually shallow and exposed to surface contamination, including firefighting foam (AFFF) used at airports and military sites in the region. The EPA's enforceable PFOS limit is 4 ppt, and utilities have until 2029 to comply (the EPA proposed in May 2026 letting systems extend that to 2031, and dropping the PFHxS limit).
If you've searched for North Miami Beach PFAS data, you've probably already seen the maps. South Florida shows up prominently, and its geology is part of the reason. The Biscayne Aquifer sits close to the surface (the utility's own report puts it roughly 10 to 200 feet below ground), which makes the water table fast to recharge and equally fast to pick up whatever's leaching from above.
KYE pulled the EPA's UCMR5 results for the North Miami Beach water system (PWSID FL4131618) and compared them with the utility's 2025 water quality report. PFOS is the compound that stands out.
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The EPA's Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR5) requires every public water system serving 3,300 or more people to test for 29 PFAS compounds between 2023 and 2025. North Miami Beach falls well above that threshold: NMB Water serves about 180,000 people in North Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, and Golden Beach, according to its 2025 water quality report. The samples are pulled at the entry point to the distribution system – meaning what's measured is what's leaving the treatment plant, before it travels through the pipes to your tap.
In North Miami Beach's UCMR5 samples (August and December 2024, taken at the treatment plant entry point), PFOS measured 17 and 20 ppt and PFOA measured 5.3 ppt both times. Four other PFAS were detected: PFPeA (about 7 ppt), PFBS (6.5 to 6.9 ppt), PFBA (about 5 ppt), and PFHxA (4.2 to 4.9 ppt). PFHxS and PFHpA were not detected. MCL compliance is judged on a running annual average rather than a single sample, but PFOS at four to five times the 4 ppt limit leaves real ground to cover before the deadline. The utility's own water quality report for 2025 lists PFOS at 15 ppt and PFOA at 4.3 ppt. The full dataset is searchable through the EPA's UCMR5 dashboard at epa.gov/dwucmr.
For context, the EPA's UCMR5 program detected at least one PFAS compound in about 34% of the public water systems sampled nationally (2023-2025), and about 16% had a PFOA or PFOS sample at or above 4 ppt. North Miami Beach is in that smaller group.
The Biscayne Aquifer is one of the most productive – and most vulnerable – drinking water aquifers in the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey describes it as a karst limestone formation with high permeability, which is hydrology-speak for: water moves through it fast and brings whatever was on the surface along with it. PFAS compounds, which don't break down in soil or water, are particularly suited to this kind of transport.
The known source list around North Miami Beach is long. Miami-Dade has multiple airports – Miami International, Opa-locka Executive, Homestead Air Reserve Base – that have used aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for decades. AFFF is the foam used to suppress jet fuel fires, and its key ingredient was PFOS until the 2000s. The Department of Defense's PFAS site assessment program has documented AFFF contamination at Homestead specifically, and the plumes don't respect property lines.
Industrial sources contribute too. Chrome plating, semiconductor manufacturing, and certain textile operations historically used PFAS-containing chemistry, and Miami-Dade has had all three at various points. Once these compounds enter the surficial aquifer system, they migrate with the groundwater and eventually reach municipal wellfields.
NMB Water operates the Norwood-Oeffler Water Treatment Plant, which treats Biscayne Aquifer water with lime softening and/or nanofiltration, treats brackish Floridan Aquifer water with reverse osmosis, and then blends the streams. Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis remove most PFAS; lime softening does not, so PFAS in the lime-softened share of the blend passes through essentially unchanged. To meet the EPA's compliance deadline, the utility needs more of its water to go through PFAS-capable treatment such as membranes, granular activated carbon (GAC), or ion exchange resin.
GAC is the most common upgrade path for PFAS in U.S. utilities, and it works well for longer-chain compounds like PFOS and PFOA. It's less effective on shorter-chain PFAS like PFBS and GenX. North Miami Beach's stated path is membranes rather than GAC: its 2025 water quality report says the utility plans to remove the lime softening process by the EPA deadline, which would send more of its water through nanofiltration and reverse osmosis.
Curious what's in your water right now? You can check your water quality by zip code – the tool pulls EPA UCMR5 data and shows the specific compounds detected at your local utility.
The EPA set its 4 ppt MCL for PFOS based on emerging evidence that even very low chronic exposure raises health risks. The agency's Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) for PFOS is zero – meaning no level is considered safe. The 4 ppt enforceable limit reflects what's technically achievable with current treatment technology, not a threshold below which risk disappears.
PFOS and PFOA exposure is associated with higher cholesterol, lower vaccine antibody response, and liver enzyme changes, and PFOA with kidney and testicular cancer, according to ATSDR. The C8 Science Panel – an independent research group that studied 69,000 people exposed to PFOA through contaminated drinking water in the mid-Ohio Valley – found probable links to six conditions: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and high cholesterol. The CDC's NHANES program has detected PFAS in the blood of 97% of Americans tested.
For most North Miami Beach residents, the calculation isn't whether the current levels are immediately dangerous. They likely aren't. The calculation is whether you want years of cumulative exposure on top of whatever you're picking up from food packaging, carpets, and dust – because PFAS bioaccumulates and PFOS has a half-life in human blood of roughly 5.4 years, according to research published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
If you want to drop PFAS exposure to near-zero without waiting for the city to upgrade its treatment plant, you have three reasonable options. Reverse osmosis is the most effective: the EPA reports RO membranes typically remove more than 90% of a wide range of PFAS, including shorter-chain compounds. Activated carbon block filters work for longer-chain PFAS but are less reliable for the full spectrum. Distillation works but is slow and energy-intensive.
For most households in North Miami Beach, an under-sink reverse osmosis unit installed at the kitchen tap is the practical answer. AquaTru and Waterdrop both make countertop RO systems that don't require plumbing modifications, which matters for renters and condo residents. Whichever route you go, look for NSF/ANSI 53 and NSF/ANSI 58 certifications specifically listing PFOA and PFOS reduction. Boiling water does not remove PFAS – it actually concentrates them as the water evaporates.
If you want the full picture of what's in your water beyond just PFAS, our detailed water quality PDF report covers all detected compounds, treatment methods, and health risk context for your specific utility.
North Miami Beach isn't an outlier in South Florida – it's a representative case. The Biscayne Aquifer is the main drinking water source for about 3 million people in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties, and PFAS detections have shown up at utility after utility through UCMR5 sampling. Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, and Hollywood all reported PFOS detections in UCMR5. Treatment upgrades are underway at some utilities, but the pace varies by utility size and budget.
What's still uncertain is how the shorter-chain replacement PFAS – the compounds chemical companies developed after PFOS and PFOA were phased out – will be regulated. GenX (HFPO-DA) got its own 10 ppt MCL in the 2024 rule, but the EPA proposed rescinding it in May 2026, and most other replacement PFAS have no federal limit at all. The science is moving faster than the regulation, and that gap is where households end up making their own treatment decisions.
Is North Miami Beach water safe to drink? North Miami Beach water meets the drinking water standards currently in force, but UCMR5 testing in 2024 measured PFOS at 17 to 20 ppt and PFOA at 5.3 ppt, above the 4 ppt limits that take effect in 2029 (the EPA has proposed extending that to 2031). The plant's nanofiltration and reverse osmosis remove most PFAS, but its lime-softened water does not get that treatment. Most residents would benefit from a point-of-use reverse osmosis filter for drinking and cooking water.
What PFAS compounds were found in North Miami Beach water? Through the EPA's UCMR5 sampling program, North Miami Beach had detectable levels of PFOS (17 to 20 ppt), PFPeA, PFBS, PFOA (5.3 ppt), PFBA, and PFHxA in 2024. PFOS and PFOA were both above their 4 ppt Maximum Contaminant Levels; PFHxS and PFHpA were not detected. Specific quarter-by-quarter results are available through the EPA's UCMR5 public dashboard at epa.gov/dwucmr.
Where is North Miami Beach's drinking water sourced from? North Miami Beach draws its drinking water mainly from the Biscayne Aquifer, plus brackish water from the deeper Floridan Aquifer, through wells operated by NMB Water. Treatment happens at the Norwood-Oeffler Water Treatment Plant, which uses lime softening, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis, then blends and disinfects the water. The Biscayne Aquifer is shallow and highly permeable, which makes it productive but also vulnerable to surface contamination including PFAS.
When will North Miami Beach treat its water for PFAS? Under the EPA's 2024 PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, all public water systems including North Miami Beach must comply with the new MCLs by 2029 (the EPA proposed in May 2026 to extend the PFOA and PFOS deadline to 2031). NMB Water's 2025 water quality report says it plans to remove its lime softening process by the EPA deadline, shifting more water through nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, which can remove PFAS to below 4 ppt.
What's the best water filter for PFAS in Miami? Reverse osmosis systems typically remove more than 90% of PFOS, PFOA, and most other PFAS compounds, according to EPA research. For South Florida households, an under-sink RO system is the most effective option. Look for NSF/ANSI 53 and 58 certifications specifically listing PFOA and PFOS reduction. Activated carbon block filters are a less effective alternative – they work for longer-chain PFAS but are inconsistent on shorter-chain compounds.