— FIVEASH WATER TREATMENT PLANT REPLACEMENT
Fiveash Water Treatment Plant replacement: Fort Lauderdale’s new plant and yellow water
Fort Lauderdale is replacing the Fiveash Water Treatment Plant with the Prospect Lake Clean Water Center. The City lists the project at approximately $666 million including enabling works and expects completion in 2026. The new treatment process is designed to remove color, but no plant can guarantee that every instance of discolored water inside every home will disappear.
- Advanced membrane treatment should produce visibly clearer water than the aging Fiveash lime-softening process.
- The change does not make every distribution pipe, water heater or private plumbing line new.
- A sudden or isolated color change still needs to be diagnosed by location and fixture.
What is the Fiveash Water Treatment Plant?
Fiveash is one of Fort Lauderdale’s drinking-water treatment plants. The City’s water-supply plan describes it as a conventional lime-softening and filtration facility treating groundwater from the Biscayne Aquifer. That process can produce water that meets drinking-water requirements while retaining visible natural color.
Why is Fort Lauderdale replacing Fiveash?
The City identifies the aging Fiveash plant as the facility being replaced by the Prospect Lake Clean Water Center. The new plant is intended to improve water clarity, capacity, reliability and hurricane resilience. It is not a routine renovation of Fiveash; it is a new treatment facility at the Prospect Wellfield site.
Why has some Fort Lauderdale water looked yellow?
Naturally occurring organic material in South Florida source water can contribute color even when finished water meets required drinking-water standards. Fiveash’s older lime-softening process does not remove that color as completely as the advanced membrane treatment used at Fort Lauderdale’s Peele-Dixie plant and planned for Prospect Lake.
The City has acknowledged the visible difference between Fiveash water and water produced through advanced membrane treatment. During maintenance in March and April 2026, it warned customers temporarily supplied by Fiveash that they might notice a color change while stating that the water continued to meet primary drinking-water standards.
Color is therefore not automatic proof that water is unsafe. Residents are still justified in wanting water that looks clear and does not create uncertainty every time they open a faucet.
What is the Prospect Lake Clean Water Center?
Prospect Lake is Fort Lauderdale’s new 50-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant. The project team says the facility will use pressurized multimedia filters, stripping towers, nanofiltration and ion exchange. Nanofiltration and ion exchange are specifically identified as part of the color-removal design.
The project is also intended to strengthen capacity, reliability and hurricane resilience. Its impact extends beyond Fort Lauderdale because the utility system supplies neighboring communities and wholesale customers.
When will Prospect Lake replace Fiveash?
The City’s project page says the Prospect Lake Clean Water Center is expected to be completed in 2026. The project team also lists a 2026 commissioning date. A commissioning date is not necessarily the same as the day every customer begins receiving water from the new plant, and schedules can change. Florida Tap Report will update this page when the City announces a more specific operating transition.
Will the new Fort Lauderdale water treatment plant end yellow water?
It would be premature to promise that. The new plant can improve the water leaving the facility. The water must still travel through regional distribution lines, neighborhood mains, service lines and each property’s plumbing.
A utility supply or distribution issue becomes more plausible.
The water heater or hot-water plumbing becomes more likely.
Inspect the fixture, aerator and nearby plumbing first.
Check for main work, hydrant flushing or a pressure disturbance.
What should residents do during the transition?
- Determine whether the change affects hot water, cold water or both.
- Check more than one fixture.
- Look for a City utility notice or nearby water-main work.
- Avoid washing light-colored laundry until the water clears.
- Contact the utility if the change is severe, persistent or accompanied by pressure loss or an unusual odor.
A filter will not repair a deteriorating water heater, a corroded fixture or an active utility-main disturbance. Identify the source before selecting treatment.
What the new plant may not change
Clearer municipal water does not automatically mean softer water, nor does it eliminate every taste, odor, mineral or plumbing concern at a particular property. A utility’s annual report describes the public system overall; it does not test the water at an individual kitchen faucet.
The bottom line
Fort Lauderdale’s new plant represents a substantial infrastructure improvement and should significantly reduce plant-related color associated with the older treatment process. That is meaningful progress. The responsible conclusion, however, is not that yellow water will become impossible.
— OFFICIAL 2025 RESULTS
See what Fort Lauderdale reported.
Review the City’s regulated results first, then request address-specific testing only when you need measurements from your own tap.
Need current safety information? Check Broward County water alerts →
Noticing an odor instead of color? Read the Broward chlorine taste-and-smell guide →
Not a Fort Lauderdale Utilities customer? Find the correct Broward water provider →
Published August 25, 2026 · Search and source update September 1, 2026 · No corrections posted.
The September update added direct answers about Fiveash, Prospect Lake and the expected transition. Plant commissioning schedules can change; we will update this page when the City announces a material schedule or operating change.
Sources
- City of Fort Lauderdale project page: cost, ownership and project scope
- City of Fort Lauderdale Water Quality Report
- City notice: treatment maintenance and possible color change
- Prospect Lake Clean Water Center treatment and capacity description
- City Utility Services: neighboring service areas
- Axios Fort Lauderdale: August 2026 facility report