Miami Utilities Guide

In the City of Miami, water and sewer come from Miami-Dade County's Water and Sewer Department, trash and recycling from the City of Miami Department of Solid Waste, and power outage reports go to Florida Power and Light.

The split matters because the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County are separate governments: the county's WASD runs the water and sewer system, serving some 2.4 million residents, while the city runs collection, street sweeping and its own stormwater utility inside Miami's limits. This hub is the Digital Towns starting point for Miami utilities; each answer below names the office that handles the service and was checked on October 15, 2026 against the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County and FPL websites.

Miami residents start water and sewer service with the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, which charges a $50 deposit for each service plus a non-refundable $45 service charge on the first bill.

WASD takes new service requests online through its Self-Service Application, and the county says new requests are typically processed within 3 to 5 business days, while transfers take 2 to 5 business days (Miami-Dade WASD start service page). Business customers in Miami also supply a business name and a Federal Tax Number or Employer Identification Number. Deposits are credited back after two years of good standing when service ends, and only the account holder can ask to stop service.

For help by phone, WASD customer service is 305-665-7477, and its Douglas office is at 3071 SW 38th Ave, Miami 33146 (WASD). Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Miami-Dade County website.

The Miami-Dade WASD home page, checked October 15, 2026, carries an important message that all cashier windows close at 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, for a system upgrade and reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 19, with online bill payment still available (Miami-Dade WASD). The same page lists a news item that WASD would temporarily change its water disinfection method for two weeks beginning Sept. 28, saying customers may notice a chlorine taste or smell that does not affect water quality.

Miami tap water comes from the Biscayne Aquifer, from which the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department withdraws approximately 330 million gallons per day through wells averaging 80 feet deep.

WASD describes the Biscayne Aquifer as lying just below ground level in porous rock that fills with rain water (WASD water supply and treatment page). Three regional treatment plants supply a common distribution system: the Hialeah and Preston plants serve residents north of Southwest Eighth Street up to the Miami-Dade/Broward line, and the Alexander Orr Plant serves residents south of Southwest Eighth Street to Southwest 248 Street. WASD says questions about how drinking water is treated go to the department lab that serves the customer's area.

Behind the tap, Miami-Dade County maintains more than 8,500 miles of underground water lines and approximately 4,100 miles of sewer lines, serving some 2.4 million residents and thousands of visitors (Miami-Dade WASD). The WASD home page also reports that the South Florida Water Management District has lifted its water shortage warning for Miami-Dade County, and it lists rebates for water-saving fixtures inside the home.

The City of Miami Department of Solid Waste collects residential garbage twice per week, recycling every other week and bulky trash once per week, and closes only on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Christmas Day.

The City of Miami schedule page has an address search that shows the garbage, recycling and bulky trash days for any Miami address (City of Miami collection schedules). Carts must stand at least five feet from trees, cars and light poles, and leaving a cart out more than 24 hours after pickup can bring a citation. A missed garbage pickup is reported to 311. When a holiday closure falls on a collection day, garbage moves to the next scheduled pickup day for that Miami route.

For larger loads, the City of Miami Mini Dump at 1290 NW 20 Street takes bulky items and yard trash Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Saturday from 8:00 AM to 12 noon, and is closed Sundays, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Christmas Day (City of Miami Mini Dump page). Each visit requires one proof of City of Miami residency, such as a Florida driver license or a utility statement from the last 3 months, and residents are limited to one trip per day of no more than a pickup truck load.

Two points sit outside the household routine. Businesses and Miami properties with four or more units start garbage and recycling service by contacting one of the city-approved franchise commercial haulers, and the department sweeps around 300 miles of Miami streets every week (City of Miami Department of Solid Waste).

The City of Miami stormwater utility fee is $7.00 per month for each residential unit, set by Ordinance No. 14432 on January 8, 2026, and billed on the Miami-Dade water bill since February 1, 2026.

The city's notice says the rate covers single-family homes, condominium units, apartment or townhouse units and mobile home units, while fees for non-residential properties are calculated from the amount of paved and developed area and assessed proportionally to the equivalent residential unit rate (City of Miami stormwater fee notice). Questions about the charge go to the City of Miami Department of Resilience and Public Works at 305-416-1200.

The fee is built on the Equivalent Residential Unit, or ERU, which the City of Miami defines as the statistical average horizontal impervious area of all residences in the city (City of Miami stormwater assessment page). Each residential dwelling unit counts as one ERU, and a non-residential property is billed its total impervious area divided by 1,191, rounded up to the nearest tenth of an ERU, times $7.00 a month; the page's example is a business with 5,000 square feet of impervious area billed 4.20 ERU. The page says properties with a WASD account are billed through that account, while properties without one get a semi-annual invoice from the City of Miami Finance Department. One conflict between the city's own pages: the assessment page still lists Ordinance No. 11076, adopted 7/12/1993, under ordinances in effect, while the January 2026 notice cites Ordinance No. 14432.

The City of Miami's hurricane guide sends residents to Florida Power and Light (FPL), through FPL's outage page or to 1-800-4-OUTAGE (1-800-468-8243) to report an outage or a downed line.

The City of Miami Power Outages page, part of its hurricane guide, asks residents to call immediately about a dangerous condition such as a downed power line, and notes that a line already reported does not need a second report (City of Miami power outages page). The same Miami page lists basic steps during an outage: keep freezers and refrigerators closed, run generators only outdoors and away from windows, do not heat a home with a gas stove, and disconnect appliances and electronics to avoid damage from surges.

FPL describes itself as America's largest electric utility, delivering power to more than 6 million customer accounts and approximately 12 million people across Florida (FPL company profile). The City of Miami page points residents to FPL's page both to report an outage and to check its status.