Water Bills May Rise as New Florida Plant Price Soars to $300 Million

Some Florida residents could see their water and wastewater bills jump in the near future as Riviera Beach City Council members consider a new water treatment plant that could cost up to $300 million.

The news in Riviera comes as municipalities across the nation have recently considered an increase in water bills for a variety of reasons, ranging from new nano-filtration systems to reduce the levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, to less water storage in reservoirs because of damaged dams. Albuquerque, New Mexico, is considering raising water and sewer bills to cover an increase in fuel, power and chemical costs.

The $300 million cost comes as a surprise to Riviera Beach city officials and residents, although the latter have expressed their fury regarding the state of the city’s water. Last June, water in a Riviera Beach well tested positive for E. coli—a bacterium that normally lives in the intestines of healthy people and animals. Ingesting E. coli can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting.

Since the initial test, Palm Beach County water quality experts informed the city that two wells tested positive for the contaminant and that E. coli had leaked into the drinking water system, according to a report in The Palm Beach Post. In addition to the concerning test results, the current water treatment plant is almost 70 years old and in dire need of replacement.

However, the city is not certain about how it will pay for the project. The cost has doubled since original estimates were made in 2021 because of rising labor and material costs, and residents might have to bear the brunt of the cost through an increase in their water and wastewater bills, The Palm Beach Post reported. Rates are already set to increase in 2024 and 2025 to set “the financial groundwork” for the new plant, and it’s unclear how much the rates could increase depending on the plant’s final cost.

“I do understand that construction costs continue to rise,” Councilwoman KaShamba Miller-Anderson said. “So I do factor that in. But at what point are we able to lock into a price? Is there a point where we say, ‘This is what it is. This is what’s going to be?’ Because if we don’t do that, we could be up to 5, 6, $700 million, especially with the way construction costs are increasing.”

In addition to their concern about water bill rates, residents still don’t know what caused the E. coli contamination.

“We are almost in June, again have not heard anything about what happened with that incident— who was responsible, who we need to hold accountable,” Riviera Councilwoman Shirley Lanier said, according to the Palm Beach Post report. “Nothing has been done about it.”

Newsweek reached out to Lanier by email for further comment.