RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Among the various issues in the city of Riviera Beach, water contamination in city water was the most discussed topic at a candidate forum Monday night at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church.
Riviera Beach Mayor Ronnie Felder said E. coli and fecal bacteria got into the city's drinking water in June 2023. The announcement contradicted city staff, who repeatedly said a water treatment plant removed contaminants from the city's drinking water.
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Felder said his office planned to conduct an independent investigation over the contamination dispute. WPTV received records from a public records request showing city staff didn't notify the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County about the contamination within 24 hours, which is required by state law, because it believed the water sample was a false positive.
Records obtained by WPTV from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection show another water sample in Riviera Beach tested positive for fecal bacteria on Aug. 15. No notice was sent out to the public as of Monday, but Utility Director Michael Low said the sample was also a false positive.
Dr. Julia Botel, who is running for re-election, said she still doesn't know the facts surrounding the issues and expects to get details at the city's next council meeting Wednesday. She argued the dispute is being used for political reasons.
"It's almost a manufactured crisis," Botel said. "...To say the water is contaminated, the water is not contaminated now. Errors were made in June (and) July when people didn't report something. That's true. People made mistakes and people will be held accountable. But, our water is safe to drink now."
However, many people don't believe the water today is safe due to the water's yellow tint and buy bottled water to drink and cook. Low said the color is from broken-down organic matter that makes its way past the filtering process and is safe to drink, according to past WPTV reporting.
Botel and KaShamba Miller-Anderson, who is also running for re-election, said they have tried to help the issue by approving a new water treatment plant for the city. There is no sign of active construction on the property for the new plant.
Those are the only seats up for election in March.
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Glen Spiritis, who is running against Botel, said the city could have started construction on the plan sooner and argued the cost will become larger due to higher interest rates. He also compared the current water contamination issues to the Flint water crisis, which was when the drinking water for the Michigan city was contaminated with lead and possibly legionella bacteria in 2014.
Leroy Kelson IV, who is running against Miller-Anderson, attacked his opponent for not fixing the water issue since she's been elected to council. He argued it's not rational to expect change from the same candidates.
"This is terrible," Spiritis said. "We're turning into Flint, Michigan. The first thing I'm going to do is suggest the EPA come in here and do an investigation of our water system."
Leroy Kelson IV, who is running against Miller-Anderson, attacked his opponent for not fixing the water issue since she's been elected to council. He argued it's not rational to expect change from the same candidates.
"It's time for a change," Kelson IV said. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and expecting different results. It's time for a new era of leadership."
Miller-Anderson argued it takes more time to fix the variety of issues relating to infrastructure, like the recently completed Fire Department. The city is also looking to pass bonds to add an additional fire station on Singer Island, additional parks and other public safety improvements
Marvelous Washington, who lives in Riviera Beach and attended the forum Monday, said she's heard candidates promise to clean Riviera Beach's water for years. She said people wanted to hear specific ideas and how candidates would make those plans a reality.
"It's been a common theme for candidates to talk about clean water and new water plant," Washington said. "But, it's never a conversation about how we are going to those things and I think that's why residents are here tonight because we want to know how it's going to happen."