Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Riviera Beach officials report steady progress on water plant and well rehab, testing underway
Summary
City and contractor updates at a March 18 utility-district meeting said work on the new water treatment plant and multiple well-rehabilitation projects is advancing; officials outlined testing timelines, aquifer sourcing plans and a draft master plan for wells to be finalized in the coming weeks.
Riviera Beach utility officials told the board March 18 that contractors are making measurable progress on the city’s new water treatment plant and on rehabilitation of existing production wells.
Assistant Utility Director Richard Glenn and contractors outlined near-term milestones and testing requirements. Mike Miller of US Water Services said work at the older treatment facility is focused on filter-bank repairs: “We expect by April 15, hopefully, that we should be able to have, those other 6 filters completed and refurbished.”
David Schumann, project manager for Global Tech’s well-field rehab, said work on well 71 is complete and the well has been dosed with chlorine for bacteriological testing. “That’ll take 5 days of two-a-day samples,” Schumann said, and the team expects the required testing cycle to finish in about a week. Schumann also reported improved production at one well, with flow increasing “from 300 gallons a minute to around 800 gallons a minute.”
Board and staff described how the new water plant will draw from two sources. The utility’s project team said roughly half the plant’s supply will come from the Biscayne aquifer and roughly half from the Florida aquifer; deeper Florida aquifer wells require reverse-osmosis treatment, while shallower Biscayne wells will use nano- and ultrafiltration.
City and consultant staff also summarized a wellfill master plan now in draft. Utility leadership said the plan has identified about eight wells recommended for abandonment and six candidates for relocation; staff expected a rough draft within two weeks and a final recommendation to the board in April.
The updates included construction-management details for the joint-venture builder: Omar Rodriguez, the JV’s senior project manager, reported advancing procurement and mobilization work for later GMP (guaranteed maximum price) packages and said dozens of procurement packages were in various stages of release.
Why it matters: the plant and well work are central to the city’s plan to replace aging infrastructure and reduce the risk and frequency of service disruptions. Contractors and staff provided testing timelines and expected rehabilitation outcomes; the board will receive final master-plan recommendations before making long-term asset decisions.
What’s next: staff said they will return with finalized master-plan recommendations and further schedule updates as testing results and GMP approvals are completed.
