RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Riviera Beach Utility Director Michael Low maintains the city's drinking water is safe now.
However, there are questions regarding whether it was safe back in June. That's when newly uncovered reports showed there was fecal contamination in the drinking water.
Riviera Beach
Riviera Beach concluded positive water test 'false positive,' emails show
At a Monday news conference, Mayor Ronnie Felder said Riviera Beach's drinking water was contaminated when it was tested in June, but he did not offer any proof.
WPTV dug into documents Tuesday that showed that Felder was correct in his assessment.
WPTV obtained an email sent from the regional environmental health manager to Riviera Beach city commissioners.
That email reads that on June 6, 2023, the city of Riviera Beach collected "fecal positive samples" from water being served to customers. Those customers included businesses and residences.
That letter added that "the city was required by law to publish a boil water notice in the affected area of the distribution system within 24 hours."
Felder said he was never notified of this.
Riviera Beach
Drinking contaminated water could cause 'diarrheal illness'
WPTV went to Riviera Beach City Hall, to the utility's headquarters and to the Florida Department of Health's regional office to find out if any of them were notified of those test results or if it issued the required boil water notice.
Through a public records request, WPTV obtained an email dated Sept. 11, 2023, from Low to the Department of Health. In that email, Low wrote of the positive test, "We did take immediate action to check the result following the adverse finding and the recheck confirmed it had been a false positive."
WPTV reported last week that the city failed to disclose contamination in a well in a separate test back in June. They waited until January to inform the public about that incident.
