For years, residents of Riviera Beach have had a simple answer when asked about their tap water: they don’t drink it. The reason isn’t hard to find.
A water treatment plant built in the 1950s to serve roughly 13,000 people is still operating today — long past the end of its intended lifespan — while the city’s population has grown to nearly 40,000. City officials acknowledged the plant should have been replaced 25 years ago.
The result has been decades of declining water quality, mounting regulatory violations and a growing distrust between residents and the utility responsible for keeping their water safe…