City and well water / Dade City
Water Treatment in Dade City, Florida
Dade City runs its own water utility, and much of the citrus and cattle country around it runs on private wells. Both draw from the Floridan aquifer, and each needs a different fix. We test at your sink, tell you which water you have, and size a system to it.
INSTALLS IN A YEAR
260+
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
10+
GOOGLE RATING
5.0★
Family-owned and Florida-based. Zach tests your water personally and explains what the numbers mean before recommending anything. No contracts, no high-pressure scripts.
THE SHORT ANSWER
What is in Dade City tap water?
Groundwater from city wells in the Floridan aquifer, disinfected with chlorine. The city's 2025 report shows every health-based contaminant under its federal limit, with nitrate at 2.8 parts per million against a limit of 10.
It also reports total dissolved solids as high as 560 parts per million, over the secondary limit of 500. That limit covers taste and appearance rather than health, and dissolved minerals are what leave spots, scale and a flat taste. A free test shows what your own tap is carrying.
Water utility
City of Dade City, about 15,500 people
Source
City wells in the Floridan aquifer
Dissolved solids
Up to 560 ppm in 2025, over the 500 limit
Private wells
15,548 known well parcels in Pasco County
Is your Dade City home on city water or a well?
Check your bill first. A City of Dade City water bill means city water, and a pump and pressure tank with no bill means a private well.
Pasco County also runs small systems in east Pasco, including Lake Jovita, which serves about 1,800 people from two wells. Outside every system, you are on your own well, and the Florida Department of Health's 2023 inventory counted 15,548 parcels in Pasco County with known private wells.
What do high dissolved solids mean for your home?
They mean more minerals and salts in the water. Total dissolved solids is the measure of what would stay behind if the water evaporated, and the city reported up to 560 parts per million in 2025.
At that level you are more likely to see spots on glass, scale on fixtures and a flat or salty taste. A water softener handles the hardness minerals, and a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen sink reduces dissolved solids in the water you drink.
We include the reverse osmosis system at no charge with a qualifying whole-home installation.
Is there PFAS in Dade City water?
Yes, at low levels. In the EPA's UCMR 5 study in 2023 and 2024, PFOS measured 4.9 to 7.6 parts per trillion at three city treatment plants, and PFOA was not detected.
The federal limit for PFOS is 4.0, judged on a running annual average, with compliance due by 2029. Single study samples are not violations, and reverse osmosis reduces PFOS at the tap.
What do private wells around Dade City need?
A lab test first, then a treatment plan. The Florida Department of Health recommends testing private wells for bacteria and nitrate at least once a year.
Florida well water can carry iron, which stains fixtures orange, and hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs. Iron and sulfur removal goes in first, sized to your well's flow rate, with a softener after it for hardness.
Why test for nitrate in citrus country?
Because nitrate has no color, taste or smell, and fertilizer runoff is one of its sources. Dade City's history is tied to citrus and cattle, and the city still hosts the Kumquat Festival every year.
The Florida Department of Health warns that high nitrate levels can pose an immediate threat to infants and pregnant women. If a test finds it, reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink is the standard fix for drinking water.
What happens at your free water test?
We test at your sink, confirm whether you are on city water or a well, and walk you through each reading. When you need documented results for a lender or a new well, we arrange certified lab testing.
You get a recommendation sized to your numbers, with no pressure.
Matched to this problem
What we install in Dade City homes
City water and well water need different systems here. Your test tells us which one you have and what it needs.
Iron and sulfur removal
For private wells. It oxidizes and filters out iron and hydrogen sulfide, sized to your well's flow rate, so the stains and rotten-egg smell stop.
wells with orange stains or odor
Water softener installation
Sized to your measured hardness and household. It stops the spots and crust on city water, and follows iron treatment on a well.
city water and treated wells alike
Reverse osmosis
An under-sink membrane system on its own faucet. It reduces dissolved solids, nitrate and PFOS in the water you drink and cook with.
drinking water, formula and ice
WHY HOMEOWNERS HERE CHOOSE US
A family-owned team, not a franchise script
Zach and Abby Brownell started ClearQuest in 2023 after a decade inside the franchise model. Everything below is the part they changed.
Your water gets tested first
Zach runs the test himself and explains what each number means before anyone talks about equipment.
Sized for Florida water
Systems are tuned to your hardness, your flow rate and your household size, not to a catalog default.
Repair before replace
If a tune-up beats a new system, we say so. That answer has cost us sales and earned us referrals.
260+ installs in year one
Across Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Hernando County, at a 5.0-star Google rating.
No contracts, no subscriptions
You buy a system, not a payment plan. Nothing renews, and nothing locks you in.
Featured by Tampa Bay 28
The ABC affiliate covered us after we stepped in for a Pasco family left with orange, undrinkable water.
5-STAR REVIEWS
Tampa Bay neighbors say it best.
Matched to this problem
Recent installs, photographed on the day we finished
Well water / Treatment tanks at a rural well
Well water / Treatment tanks at a rural well
Well water / Iron and sulfur with a pressure tank
Well water / Iron and sulfur with a pressure tank
City water / ClearQuest softener, outdoors
City water / ClearQuest softener, outdoors
Drinking water / RO faucet at a marble counter
Drinking water / RO faucet at a marble counter
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
What the City of Dade City reports
Dade City, the county seat of Pasco County, pumps its water from wells in the Floridan aquifer and serves about 15,500 people. Its 2025 report shows arsenic at 0.49 parts per billion against a limit of 10, and total trihalomethanes at 10.44 against a limit of 80.
The one number over a limit is total dissolved solids, which ranged from 160 to 560 parts per million. The city lists the likely source as natural leaching from soil, and notes that the EPA does not consider this kind of exceedance to have major health effects.
Hardness is not in the report. The reading that sizes your softener comes from your own tap.
On service lines. The city surveyed more than 6,650 water service connections for its lead service line inventory. It recorded 3,492 with no lead service line, and 3,158 that are still unknown. If you are concerned about lead, the city's report asks you to contact the city about testing.
Sources: City of Dade City 2025 Water Quality Report (PWS 6510424) / EPA UCMR 5 data / Florida Department of Health
Living with the system
What ownership actually looks like
Every year
Lab test the well
The Florida Department of Health recommends testing a private well for bacteria and nitrate at least once a year. Put it on the calendar.
Once a month
Check the softener salt
Keep the salt above the water line in the brine tank. When it runs out, hardness comes straight back through to your fixtures.
Every 6 to 12 months
RO cartridges
The sediment and carbon filters protect the membrane that reduces nitrate and dissolved solids. Change them on schedule and it lasts for years.
Before you buy
Advice we give every homeowner
01
Ask the city about your line
Dade City's inventory lists 3,158 service lines as unknown. If you're concerned about lead, the city asks you to contact it about testing.
02
Iron treatment goes first
On a well, a softener asked to remove iron fouls its resin. Put iron and sulfur treatment ahead of the softener, not instead of it.
03
Test for nitrate with a baby home
Nitrate has no taste or smell, and state health officials warn it can harm infants. A certified lab test is the only way to know.
04
Wells follow watering rules too
The district's water shortage order covers all of Pasco County through March 31, 2027, and it applies to private wells.
Questions we get asked
Dade City water FAQ
Is Dade City tap water safe to drink?
The City of Dade City's 2025 report shows every health-based contaminant under its federal limit. Total dissolved solids exceeded a secondary limit, which covers taste and appearance, and the report notes the EPA does not consider that a major health effect.
Why does my well water smell like rotten eggs?
That is hydrogen sulfide, which is common in Florida well water. It is a nuisance odor rather than a health hazard at typical household levels, and whole-home iron and sulfur treatment removes it before the water reaches your taps.
Should I test my well for nitrate near old groves?
Yes, especially with an infant in the home. Nitrate has no taste or smell, fertilizer runoff is one of its sources, and the Florida Department of Health recommends testing private wells for it at least once a year.
Can one system handle iron, sulfur and hard water?
Usually it takes two stages. Iron and hydrogen sulfide are treated together first, then a softener handles hardness. We size each stage to your test results and your well's flow rate.
Why is Dade City water high in dissolved solids?
The city's 2025 report lists the likely source as natural leaching from soil. Its results ranged from 160 to 560 parts per million. Reverse osmosis at the kitchen sink reduces dissolved solids in your drinking water.
Do you install for homes on acreage outside the city?
Yes. Much of the countryside around Dade City runs on private wells, and we size iron, sulfur and softening systems to each well's flow rate. The free water test is the same wherever you are.
Keep reading
Related pages
Find out what is in your Dade City water
Book your free water test. City water or a well, we test at your sink, explain every reading and tell you what your home actually needs.
Byline: Zach Brownell, ClearQuest Water Solutions. 10+ years installing and servicing water systems across Tampa Bay.
Licensed and insured · 26246 Wesley Chapel Blvd Suite #37, Lutz, FL 33559 · Last updated September 2026