Is Auburndale, FL Tap Water Safe to Drink?
Quick Summary: Auburndale’s tap water is considered safe to drink based on the City of Auburndale’s 2023 Annual Drinking Water Report, which states the system meets or exceeds federal and state standards. The city draws its supply from seven deep wells in the Floridan Aquifer and treats it at three water treatment plants. In the report tables, regulated contaminants and treatment-related results stayed below legal limits, including chlorine (1.78 ppm), disinfection byproducts like TTHMs (46 ppb) and HAA5 (19.7 ppb), and radiological results like alpha (1.1 pCi/L) and combined radium (1.0 pCi/L). The lead and copper tap sampling shown also reported zero sites exceeding action levels. Even with compliant municipal testing, taste and odor (often chlorine) and in-home plumbing can still affect what you experience at the tap, so an in-home water test is the best way to confirm what’s in your home’s water.
If you live in Auburndale, Florida, it’s normal to wonder what’s really in the water coming out of your faucet, especially if you notice a chlorine taste, occasional odor changes, or you live in an older home.
Based on the City of Auburndale 2023 Annual Drinking Water Report, the city states its drinking water meets or exceeds federal and state requirements. So, Auburndale tap water is considered safe to drink under current regulations.
That said, “safe” doesn’t mean “pure” or “nothing detected.” All public water systems can contain small, regulated amounts of disinfectants and byproducts from treatment plus naturally occurring minerals from the source water. And what happens inside your home (aging pipes, fixtures, and water heaters) can also influence taste and quality.
Where Does Auburndale’s Tap Water Come From?
Auburndale’s drinking water supply comes from seven deep wells that draw groundwater from the Floridan Aquifer.
Groundwater sources like this are often valued for their consistency. As water moves through soil and rock, it can pick up naturally occurring minerals—and in some cases, small amounts of radioactive material that occurs in nature (the report notes this as a general possibility for water sources).
How Does the City Treat Auburndale Drinking Water?
According to the report, Auburndale treats water through three water treatment plants.
A key detail: the city describes using a forced-air degasification system (at the newer plant, and similar to another plant) to help remove hydrogen sulfides from raw well water. Hydrogen sulfide is commonly associated with a “rotten egg” smell in water. Removing it ahead of disinfection can reduce the amount of disinfectant needed and can help with overall water stability.
After that, the city adds:
- Chlorine for disinfection (the report references maintaining a minimum residual in the system)
- Fluoride to support strong teeth at optimal levels (the report notes the common target range of 0.7–1.2 ppm for fluoridation programs)
What Does the 2023 Auburndale Water Quality Report Say?
The report includes several categories of regulated testing results.
Radiological Contaminants
- Alpha: 1.1 pCi/L (MCL 15)
- Combined Radium (226/228): 1.0 pCi/L (MCL 5)
These results are well below the listed maximum contaminant levels.
Inorganic Contaminants
- Asbestos: 0.18 MFL (MCL 7)
- Barium: 0.0120 ppm (MCL 2)
- Fluoride: 0.299 ppm (the report table lists an MCL of 2)
- Sodium: 9.39 ppm (table shows 160 as a reference level)
Most of these are either naturally occurring (coming from the aquifer) or related to distribution infrastructure. Sodium is included because some people track it for dietary reasons; the number shown here is low compared to the reference level in the table.
Disinfectants & Disinfection Byproducts
This is the category that often matters most for taste—and for people who want to reduce what treatment leaves behind.
- Chlorine: 1.78 ppm (MRDL 4)
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5): 19.7 ppb (MCL 60)
- Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs): 46 ppb (MCL 80)
Auburndale is using disinfectant residuals to keep water safe through the distribution system. Those disinfectants can also create byproducts (TTHMs and HAA5)—and while the report shows levels below the legal limits, many homeowners still prefer to reduce chlorine taste/odor and disinfection byproducts at the tap.
What About Lead in Auburndale Tap Water?
Lead usually isn’t coming from the water source itself—it most often comes from corrosion of household plumbing systems and certain fixtures.
Lead and Copper levels from the water quality report:
If your house is older, has older plumbing, or you’re unsure about fixture materials, it’s smart to treat lead as a “test-it-at-the-tap” issue.
Why Does Auburndale Tap Water Sometimes Taste Like Chlorine?
Even when water is safe, taste complaints are common—especially with chlorinated systems.
A chlorine taste usually comes from:
- Normal disinfectant residuals maintained throughout the distribution system
- Warmer temperatures (which can make chlorine smell more noticeable)
- In-home plumbing or a water heater that intensifies odors
- Stagnation (water sitting in pipes for long periods)
If your goal is better taste and odor, you’re usually looking at activated carbon filtration (for chlorine) or reverse osmosis (for a broader reduction of dissolved solids and many trace contaminants at the drinking tap).
What’s the Best Way to Improve Tap Water Quality in Auburndale?
Here are common goals and the matching solution types:
- Reduce chlorine taste/odor: whole-home carbon filter or under-sink carbon filter
- Reduce TTHMs and HAA5 at the drinking tap: carbon filtration and/or reverse osmosis at the sink
- Reduce dissolved solids and get “bottled-water-like” taste: reverse osmosis (under-sink)
- Check whether minerals are causing scale or dryness: hardness testing (the Floridan Aquifer can carry minerals—testing confirms what you have)
How Culligan Can Help Auburndale Homeowners Choose the Right Filter
A water quality report is a great starting point—but it can’t tell you:
- what’s happening in your plumbing,
- whether your home has higher metals from fixtures,
- or how strong the chlorine taste will be at your specific tap.
Culligan starts with a home water test to confirm what’s coming out of your faucets and what you want to improve (taste, odor, spotting/scale, peace of mind, or all of the above). From there, Culligan can match the solution to the goal—like an under-sink reverse osmosis system for drinking water, or a whole-home filtration setup if the whole house is affected by chlorine taste and smell.
