Table of Contents

1. [Why Florida's Water Is Different: The Floridan Aquifer](#floridan-aquifer)

2. [City-by-City Water Hardness and Contamination Guide](#city-by-city)

3. [Miami: Saltwater Intrusion and the Biscayne Aquifer Crisis](#miami)

4. [Jacksonville: The Sulfur Capital of Florida](#jacksonville)

5. [Tampa: Among the Hardest Water in America](#tampa)

6. [Orlando: Central Florida's Growing Contamination Problem](#orlando)

7. [PFAS Contamination: Florida's Military Base Crisis](#pfas)

8. [Agricultural Runoff: Phosphates, Nitrates, and Lake Okeechobee](#agricultural-runoff)

9. [Saltwater Intrusion and Sea Level Rise](#saltwater-intrusion)

10. [What Florida Homeowners Can Do About Their Water](#solutions)

11. [Frequently Asked Questions](#faq)

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Why Florida's Water Is Different: The Floridan Aquifer {#floridan-aquifer}

To understand why Florida's water quality is so uniquely challenging, you have to start underground \u2014 about 100 to 1,500 feet underground, to be precise.

The Floridan Aquifer System (FAS) is one of the most productive aquifers in the world, spanning approximately 100,000 square miles beneath all of Florida and extending into parts of southeastern Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), this massive underground water reservoir serves as the primary drinking water source for millions of Floridians.