Service Area
Reverse Osmosis Installation in College Park, Orlando
If you live in one of College Park’s pre-1960 bungalows or 1950s ranches, this page is for you. In short, a reverse osmosis College Park install solves two problems at once: residual disinfectant + dissolved-solids in the OUC water, and trace lead from older service lines that the city stopped using in 1988 but never fully replaced. As a result, College Park is one of the few Orlando neighborhoods where an RO is closer to a public-health upgrade than a luxury polish.
Moreover, College Park sits north of downtown Orlando along Edgewater Drive, between Princeton Street and Par Avenue. Specifically, it covers ZIP 32804 — Lake Adair, Lake Concord, Lake Silver, the College Park Main Street corridor, and the older sections south of Smith Street. Median household income runs $75,000 to $113,000 per 2024 ACS data, with a heavy concentration of pre-1960 single-family homes — a housing stock older than almost any other Orlando neighborhood except Lake Davis / Delaney Park.
Furthermore, this page covers what’s actually in your College Park tap water, why older homes here benefit more than newer construction, and exactly what the installed price is.
What’s actually in College Park water?
College Park is served by Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC). The water comes from the Lower Floridan Aquifer through wells south and east of the city. Specifically, typical OUC system chemistry across the zones that serve College Park looks like this:
- Hardness: 7 to 9 grains per gallon — moderately hard to hard. Anything above 7 gpg leaves visible scale and shortens appliance life.
- TDS: 280 to 340 ppm. A properly-spec’d RO system brings that under 20 ppm.
- Disinfection: OUC uses ozone as the primary treatment (rolled out under Water Project 2000) and chlorine as the residual at ~1 ppm. Importantly, OUC does not use chloramine.
- pH: 7.6 to 8.0 — slightly alkaline.
- PFAS: OUC participates in EPA’s UCMR 5 monitoring and publishes results annually. Whether current levels sit above or below EPA’s 2024 MCL, a whole-house RO rejects PFAS at 95%+ efficiency.
- Lead: Non-detect at OUC’s distribution sample points — but College Park has the most pre-1988 service-line stock in the OUC service area. As a result, trace lead can pick up between the main and your faucet inside older homes.
In short, OUC’s water leaves the plant clean. However, what reaches the kitchen tap in a 1947 College Park bungalow is a different question — and it’s why a whole-house RO matters here in a way it doesn’t in newer suburbs.
Why older College Park homes benefit more from RO than newer construction
The water from OUC isn’t meaningfully different in College Park vs. a newer suburb like Lake Nona. However, the plumbing it flows through is dramatically different:
- Pre-1988 service lines. Federal lead-pipe phase-out started in 1986 and effectively in 1988. Many College Park homes have galvanized or lead-jointed service lines from the original 1920s-1950s build era. As a result, even non-detect lead at the main can pick up trace lead between the meter and the faucet.
- Corroded copper and galvanized supply. Hard water accelerates internal pipe corrosion, narrowing diameter and reducing flow. Specifically, that weak shower pressure in a College Park home is often hard water plus aging pipes — not a problem with the OUC main.
- Original brass and iron fixtures. Period-correct sillcocks, copper risers, and brass faucets that make a 1947 College Park bungalow valuable. Furthermore, hard water accelerates the pitting that ruins them.
- Older water heaters. Scale-coated heating elements lose efficiency. In a 70-year-old home with original supply runs, the efficiency hit compounds over time.
Consequently, a whole-house water softener and reverse osmosis system address all of this at the water meter, before it touches your existing plumbing. In fact, this is the highest-ROI plumbing upgrade you can make to a historic College Park home short of a full re-pipe.
Reverse osmosis College Park pricing — no quote games
| System | Price installed |
|---|---|
| Under-sink RO (kitchen only) | $495 – $895 |
| Whole-house alkaline RO | $2,950 |
| Water softener add-on | $1,200 |
| RO + softener combo (most College Park homes) | $4,150 |
Additionally, we publish these prices because we’d rather the customer know what they’re buying before we show up. You’ll get a written quote inside 2 business days of a phone call. Annual maintenance plan: $195/year (optional).
Our 4-step reverse osmosis College Park install process
- Free water test and pre-install plumbing inspection. We run TDS, hardness, pH, and residual chlorine on your actual tap. Importantly, we also check your supply lines — pre-1988 College Park homes often have surprises (galvanized stubs, capped lines, lead-soldered joints).
- Written quote in plain language. One number, itemized.
- Install in 4 to 6 hours. System mounts in the garage or utility closet. Many older College Park homes don’t have a traditional utility room — we’ll find a creative mounting spot that doesn’t compromise the home’s character.
- 30-day follow-up and re-test. We confirm the numbers landed where we said they would.
Service area
We serve all of College Park (32804) — Edgewater Drive corridor, Lake Adair, Lake Concord, Lake Silver, College Park Main Street, and the historic blocks south of Smith Street. In addition, we serve adjacent neighborhoods including Lake Davis / Delaney Park, Baldwin Park, Dr. Phillips, and Windermere.
FAQ — reverse osmosis College Park questions
Should I worry about lead in my College Park home’s water?
If your home was built before 1988, yes — at least worth testing. Specifically, OUC’s distribution-side samples consistently show non-detect lead, but what they sample at the main isn’t what comes out of your tap if your home has pre-1988 service-line solder or galvanized pipes. As a result, a whole-house RO removes any trace lead picked up between the meter and the faucet, regardless of what your plumbing looks like.
How hard is OUC water in College Park?
Typical OUC system data shows 7 to 9 grains per gallon across the zones that serve College Park. That’s moderately hard to hard — enough to leave visible scale on faucets, reduce appliance life, and build up in your water heater.
What disinfectant does OUC use?
OUC uses ozone as the primary treatment and chlorine (not chloramine) as the residual disinfectant in the distribution system, typically around 1 ppm. As a result, the carbon pre-filter stage on a whole-house RO removes the residual chlorine before it reaches the membrane.
My home is from 1948. Can you still install a softener and RO?
Yes. We’ve worked on College Park homes built as early as the 1920s. Older homes sometimes require creative mounting (smaller utility spaces, different access points) and occasionally a short run of new copper to tie into the main. However, the installation itself works the same as in a modern home.
How long does the install take in a College Park home?
4 to 6 hours for the standard softener + RO combo. Specifically, it’s a bit longer if your home doesn’t have a traditional utility closet and we need to get creative with the mount location.
Should I replace my old galvanized pipes first?
It depends. If your pipes are visibly corroded, leaking, or showing reduced flow, you’re better off replacing them before installing a softener — the softener extends the life of good plumbing, not failed plumbing. Moreover, we’ll flag anything we see during the pre-install inspection. However, if your pipes still have life in them, the softener actually slows further corrosion.
Will an RO affect water pressure in my older home?
The RO itself doesn’t reduce pressure to your downstream fixtures — it has its own storage tank. However, if your home already has reduced flow from corroded supply lines, you may notice it more after install simply because you’ll be paying attention. As a result, our pre-install inspection includes a flow test so you know what you’re working with.
Ready for clean water in your College Park home?
Call (407) 602-8249 or request a free water test. We’ll run TDS, hardness, residual chlorine, and pH on your actual tap water — and we’ll inspect your supply lines while we’re there. Importantly, if a softener is the right first step, we’ll tell you. In fact, if your plumbing needs attention before any treatment makes sense, we’ll tell you that too.