Riviera Beach man sues city utility district, claiming contaminated drinking water made him sick

A Riviera Beach man has filed suit against the city's Utility Special District, claiming he was sickened after months of unknowingly drinking water the utility failed to tell residents had tested positive for E. coli, a fecal contaminant that can cause intense stomach pain, diarrhea and more serious problems in people who are already sick with other conditions.

Jose Rivera, a truck driver, said he began experiencing stomach problems late last year after drinking city water.

"Sometime in the middle of September, early October, I was going through different type of things, like sweating," he said Wednesday during a news conference. "Every time I tried to eat something, I could not hold it. I could not go anywhere. I had to go to the bathroom. The minute something touch on my stomach, it was horrible."

Rivera said he went to the doctor multiple times and underwent various tests, including a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. He got better, he said, through treatment prescribed by his doctors and after he stopped drinking the city water once news broke of its possible contamination.

Attorney Nick Johnson said Rivera's life was altered by his physical ordeal.

"He had a genuine fear of leaving the home because he did not know when he would have to run to the bathroom," Johnson said. "That's how quickly that onset of stomach pain and having to go to the bathroom would happen. And so, it restricted him from doing what he was doing before he started consuming this contaminated water."

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Riviera Beach, which offered no comment on the lawsuit, insists its drinking water is safe. The district, which oversees the treatment of the drinking water, sent out a notice in January telling residents that water in a single well tested positive for E. coli in June 2023 and acknowledging that it failed to notify either residents or the state of that positive test, as is required by law.

The city said the contaminant did not make it into the drinking water and no boil water alert was issued.

Last summer's positive E. coli results have alarmed residents

But Mayor Ronnie Felder, who has launched an investigation into the positive test and the utility's response to it, said Palm Beach County water safety experts he consulted with told him not one but two wells tested positive for E. coli and that the contaminant did make it into the drinking water system, contrary to what residents have been told.

News of the positive test — a notice of which was read aloud in January by City Council member Tradrick McCoy during a meeting on development — has rocked the city, alarming residents who fear the water is not safe and raising questions about how much they should trust what they've been told about the water.

Johnson said he has met with many clients and expects to file multiple lawsuits on their behalf. One potential client, he said, told him she puts bleach in the water in an effort to make it safe for bathing.

"We're here because of a huge, wide-scale problem that was created when the Riviera Beach Utility Special District failed at their one and only job, which was to provide safe water to its customers," Johnson said. "If you look at their website, on the mission statement, you'll see where their top priority is the safety and health of the community. And they failed miserably at providing that safe water to customers like Jose Rivera, who went through a horrible ordeal.

"We're talking about an endoscopy, colonoscopy, stomach pains, nausea, vomiting. Trying to figure out what was wrong with him for a long period of time, and no one knew that it was because of the water being contaminated with E. coli."

Lawsuit seeks damages of more than $50,000

Rivera's lawsuit alleges negligence and breach of contract and seeks damages of more than $50,000.

The suit comes at a sensitive time for Riviera Beach, which has hired a joint venture to design a build a water treatment plant to replace its existing facility, which was built in 1958.

That new plant, however, could cost as much as $200 million and might not be operational until early 2027.

In addition to a new water treatment plant, the city plans to build a new police department headquarters, a new fire station and parks if residents support a trio of referendum questions in March that would allow the city to raise $115 million.

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City Manager Jonathan Evans has said an additional $98 million in roadway improvements will soon be needed, adding to the staggering cost of the items on Riviera Beach's to-do list.

The Rivera lawsuit, filed on Feb. 23 in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, holds the prospect of compelling the city to disclose to his attorneys details about internal communications, water tests and test responses and, potentially, a budget-crushing settlement or jury verdict.

Rivera and any other clients, however, would likely have to show that their physical problems were tied to the drinking water and not to some other factor for which the city is not responsible.

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Asked how he can be certain his physical problems were the result of the drinking water, Rivera's attorney spoke for him.

"Here's what we know," Johnson said. "We know that Mr. Rivera went to his primary-care physician with these symptoms — throwing up, diarrhea, sweats, nausea. We know his primary care physician referred him to a gastroenterologist, which is the right thing to do.

"The gastroenterologist does an endoscopy, it's normal. He does a colonoscopy. It's normal. And yet his symptoms are consistent with E. coli contamination. Nothing else. His doctors did everything they could to find a reason why he was having these symptoms and didn't know — none of us knew — that the water was contaminated during this period of time. So if you just connect the dots and look at what's the most likely explanation for what was going on with Jose, it's the consumption of that water, which was contaminated with E. coli."

Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Riviera Beach man sues city, claims E. coli in water made him sick