Riviera's estimated date for new water treatment facility has residents frustrated

Riviera Beach residents learned recently that a new water treatment plant will cost an estimated $200 million and won't come online until early 2027, a disappointment for residents still seething about news that at least one well tested positive last year for a fecal contaminant.

"We've known since 2013 that our city water plant was in cardiac arrest," said Glen Spiritis, a former city manager in Long Beach, New York, who is running against City Councilwoman Julia Botel. "So the question is, why wasn't anything done during all of that period?"

More than a dozen other residents asked some version of that same question or expressed anger about the water during a city Utility District meeting when council members, sitting as the utility's board of directors, were given an extensive update on all that has been done in preparation for a plant that will replace the existing water treatment facility, which was built in 1958.

"Ya'll taking about how fast you're moving on stuff," Scott Lewis, another Riviera Beach resident, told council members. "Two years is not fast, especially when I got poo-poo in my water that I'm drinking. That's not fast enough. Please don't make excuses for what's happened in the past four years or five years or 10 years."

Riviera Beach's utility sent out a notice in January informing residents that, in June of 2023, water in a well tested positive for E. coli, a fecal contaminant that, if consumed, can cause watery or bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps or vomiting. The notice told residents that the utility failed to notify residents or the state of the positive test, despite legal requirements to notify the state within 24 hours.

The notice told residents their water remained safe to drink. But Mayor Ronnie Felder, who has launched an investigation into the positive test and the city's response to it, said Palm Beach County water quality experts told him that E. coli was found in not one but two wells and that the contaminant did make it into the water supply.

In January, Councilman Tradrick McCoy read the water notice during a special meeting held to discuss development. Since then, water has exploded as a political issue in Riviera Beach, angering some residents who have wondered why the city is trying to move forward on large-scale development plans while questions remain about the safety of their drinking water.

McCoy and Felder have both raised that question.

How much will a new water treatment facility cost the city?

Riviera Beach residents will vote March 19 on a series of referendum questions about whether the city should be allowed to raise $115 million in bond revenue to build parks, a new fire station, a police department headquarters and a new city hall. Current city buildings are old and, in some locations, contaminated with mold.

Some city officials have said the new buildings will be a signal to private developers that, with the city moving to solve its infrastructure problems, they can and should invest in Riviera Beach.

However, Felder reiterated his belief that a new water treatment facility should be the city's sole and top priority.

"Residents want clean water," Felder said. "So, if this is our No. 1 priority, do we put everything else in the back and concentrate just on this right now until we get this done? At least we get it going where we have the funding, see the plant going up and then we go to try to find out how we get a recreation department, how we get a city hall, how we get the police station, how we get the fire station. If this is the No. 1 priority, I really don't want to hear anything about anything else."

Felder, who does not vote in Riviera Beach's government structure, noted that residents are being asked to pay for a new water treatment plan and new city buildings.

The water treatment plant and the new facilities, if the referendums pass, would cost an estimated $315 million. City Manager Jonathan Evans said there's another $98 million that will eventually be needed for roadway improvements.

He has said city leaders in the past have kicked the cost of those infrastructure improvements down the road, which has only resulted in those improvements being more desperately needed and more expensive to undertake.

Councilwoman Shirley Lanier agreed with Felder that safe water is the city's top priority.

"But I do think that we can walk and chew gum at the same time," she said. "We need safety on both ends. We need to ensure that the water we're getting right now is safe, is drinkable, and is going to last us until quarter one of 2027 when we start the new plant."

Councilwoman KaShamba Miller-Anderson said the new plant and the other infrastructure projects are crucial for the city.

"We should be able to do more than one thing at a time, as Ms. Lanier stated," Miller-Anderson said. "We all want clean water. I don't think that is the question. I think that the can has been kicked down the road for many decades now so it is certainly important that we get this new construction going. We know we have crumbling infrastructure when it comes to our fire stations as well as our police department and city hall.

"Unfortunately, because nothing was truly done for decades, it seems that now it is being put on the backs of everyone at one time. That is not ideal, but we can't continue to go without it. The place is crumbling. We can continue to put the money in it to maintain what we have, but understand that it's old. It has out-lived its useful life."

Three years ago, Riviera Beach hired a joint venture of The Haskell Company and CDM Smith to design and build a new water treatment plant.

A Haskell press release at the time noted that the new facility would cost $100 million to $150 million. But the cost of labor and material has risen sharply since that time, and, when Felder asked Finance Director Randy Sherman for a general estimate of the plant's cost, he said it would be about $200 million.

Sherman added that the city is still looking at various options to cover that cost, including government grants and loans as well as borrowing based on revenue from increased water rates.

Water rates for Riviera residents have rapidly been rising

City Council members, sitting as board members of Riviera Beach's Utility District, unanimously approved a new rate structure in September that boosts water rates by 20% this year, 10% in 2025, with 3% increases in each of the following three years. Wastewater rates are rising even more sharply — 27% this year, 8% in 2025 and 3% in each of the following three years.

The utility has already paid Haskell-CDM Smith $6 million for design work and testing.

The utility recently approved spending another $5.9 million with Haskell-CDM Smith for more site preparation work, including demolition of existing facilities.

As a recent meeting closed, Councilman Douglas Lawson tore into Evans, laying at his feet a lack of transparency on the water issue.

"Honestly, staff has not given us clear transparency," Lawson said. "I'm very concerned that we, the council, are just hearing about information come January. Mayor Felder asked about chair of command. Mr. Evans, it stops on you. We have to get to the bottom of this."

Lawson noted that he received an erroneous water bill for $400 and wondered what other residents are experiencing.

"It's like every day something new is happening," Lawson said. "Ultimately, Mr. Evans, you have your board looking crazy. We don't know certain information, and that's not acceptable. I need you to get this (utility) district under control because, if I have to choose between my residents and you, I have to choose my residents."

Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Riviera Beach could spend $200 million for new water treatment facility