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Riviera Beach Breaks Ground on $400 Million Water Plant to Replace Aging System

City leaders target full operations within four years to rebuild confidence following contamination, missed alerts, fines, leadership turmoil.

Overview

  • A ceremonial start at 2391 Avenue L on Blue Heron Boulevard launched construction of the replacement for the 1950s-era facility.
  • The project totals about $400 million, including a $280 million plant plus roughly $120 million for wells and operational components, with homeowner bills up about $15 a month to help fund it.
  • Design plans call for five nanofiltration trains, five reverse osmosis trains, and ultrafiltration pretreatment, with initial capacity of 14 million gallons per day expandable to 16 million.
  • The city projects substantial completion by February 2029 and final completion by mid-2030, with officials estimating about four years to full operation.
  • An inspector general found at least 130 missed contamination notifications with possible E. coli exposure in 2023, regulators levied roughly $1.2 million in fines, utility leadership changed, and many residents still distrust the tap water.