RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — WPTV hired a private, independent environmental consulting firm to test the tap water for fecal bacteria in Riviera Beach.
In the weeks following the discovery of a positive E. coli test in a Riviera Beach well — months after the test was conducted — Riviera Beach residents voiced concerns over whether their water was safe to drink.
Questions arose about the quality of Riviera Beach's water in January when the city notified residents that a sample from one of its wells had tested positive for E. coli in June, seven months before the announcement.
WPTV then uncovered additional records from the Florida Department of Health that revealed more positive tests of the city's water supply last year.
In a memo to the health department, the director of the utility called one result from early June a "false positive," and the city didn't respond to WPTV's questions about a sample from a home taken in August that tested positive for coliform bacteria.
"Generally, it comes from enteric bacteria found in the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals, insects, things like that," Simon Hahessy, the scientific director and founder of AirMD, an environmental consulting firm based in Boca Raton, said. "Generally, water quality served by the municipality — we don't find a high rate of presence of coliforms."
According to company officials, AirMD has never been hired by the city of Riviera Beach.
Gisele Lowe, who lives next to the home where the coliform-positive sample was collected in August, agreed to have her tap water tested.
"I think it's important to know that I'm getting good water," Lowe said.
To get the most accurate results, Hahessy demonstrated the level of detail that must be followed throughout the testing process.
He explained that the sample should be collected from a faucet with separate hot and cold controls. It also can't swivel or have an aerator or filter on it.
"We don't want interference in the samples originating from environmental bacteria or other bacteria that (are) present in and around the faucet itself, or biofilm buildup at the faucet head," Hahessy said.
At Lowe's home, Hahessy collected a sample from an outdoor faucet without a hose attached.
Hahessy used an alcohol wipe to sanitize the spout and flushed the line, running the water for five minutes before collecting the 100-milliliter sample in a bottle that's specially designed to preserve the conditions of the water.
The water appeared clear in color and did not contain any debris. Riviera Beach residents have previously complained of yellow-tinted tap water to WPTV.
Hahessy filled out chain-of-custody paperwork, put the sample on ice, and traveled to another Riviera Beach home about 15 minutes south of Lowe's, where the residents also gave their permission to test the tap water.
Hahessy was able to remove the aerator from a bathroom faucet and repeated the procedure he performed at Lowe's home.
The cooler containing the samples and paperwork were taken to a laboratory in Miramar, Florida, the same day. WPTV was notified of the results after about a week and a half and received a copy of the report shortly after.
"The laboratory results indicate that no coliforms and total coliforms of fecal coliforms were present in the water samples collected from the two properties," Hahessy said, "which would suggest and indicate that the water quality is favorable."
Still, Hahessy pointed out a caveat.
"This was a snapshot in time, and we did take some samples from very specific locations," Hahessy said. "In general, people should be aware of the water quality and implementing ... good practices and hygienic practices."
Riviera Beach Mayor Ronnie Felder declined to comment for this story.