RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Sitting in the Riviera Beach home he rents with his sister, David Simpson said he's been dealing with gastrointestinal symptoms throughout the year.
"I would be dead asleep, and all of a sudden I feel like I went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson," he said. "I've been to six, seven different primary care physicians to find out what is wrong with me... And they — everyone then said, 'Oh, have you been drinking tap water lately?'"
Riviera Beach City Manager Jonathan Evans has been running the utility district since its director was fired and the assistant director quit this summer.
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WPTV EXCLUSIVE: Riviera Beach city manager apologizes for water quality issues
In an exclusive interview with WPTV, Evans committed to being more transparent with the people of Riviera Beach. This comes following months of turmoil, health violations and silence from leadership surrounding the city's water.
Among the city's first steps to move forward from a dangerous debacle that stretched over a year, involving positive E. coli tests in the water system that were kept quiet by the utility district's now-ousted leadership, was a notice mailed to Riviera Beach residents Friday.
The eight-page letter (read below) details what went wrong last year with the city's water system: seven positive coliform tests, followed by improper re-sampling and reporting protocol.
The notice also states chlorine levels were found to be too low in May and June of this year, but says the water is now safe.
WPTV obtained a copy of the notice of potential violations for the chlorine levels, dated July 30, 2024. It states that on two occasions, the utility "failed to maintain a minimum free chlorine residual of 0.2 milligram per liter," and that the utility failed to increase the chlorine level to the minimum required. The notice goes on to say the city "may have" failed to issue a public notices for the chlorine violations.
READ BELOW: July 30, 2024 notice of potential violations
"All talk and no action," said Simpson, after glancing at a copy of the city's letter to residents. "You can't trust the city, after what went down."
Simpson said he has complained to the city, joining more than 100 residents who filed official claims under the belief that the tap water made them sick.
Evans couldn't comment on those claims because they're part of an ongoing legal matter.
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In the meantime, Simpson said he does his best to stick with bottled water — which isn't always easy on a fixed income. He said he spends up to $400 per month on bottled water while his landlord covers the utility bill.
Riviera Beach is embarking on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of improvements to its water system, which includes a new treatment facility. Evans said that raising rates is possible to pay for improvements, but the city is working on pursuing grants to lessen the burden on customers.
Simpson hopes any rate increases don't trickle down to his rent.
