Is Riviera Beach, FL tap water safe?
Supplied by City of Riviera Beach Utility District · serves 46,762 people (13,562 connections) · Groundwater · EPA ID FL4501229
Data: U.S. EPA · How we read the data · How we check it
Most of Riviera Beach gets its water from City of Riviera Beach Utility District. Parts of the city are served by a smaller system: Palm Lake Estates North Water System (480 people). Your water bill names your system.
Summary
PFAS above the 2024 federal limits. Systems have until 2029 to meet the PFAS limits.
Is it an emergency? No: PFAS limits are about years of exposure, not a glass of water, and nothing in EPA's data calls for you to stop drinking the water today. If your utility ever issues a boil-water or do-not-drink notice, follow it.
- PFAS
- Above limitPFOA, PFOS above the federal limit in EPA's 2023–2025 testing (PFOA 13.5 ppt vs a limit of 4 ppt, PFOS 27 ppt vs a limit of 4 ppt, where ppt = parts per trillion).
- Lead
- Below action level2.4 ppb (parts per billion) at the 90th percentile: 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below it. Action level 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in Nov 2027. Monitoring period ending Dec 2023. Your home's pipes can make yours higher.
- Violations
- Resolved10 health-based violations since 2016, most recently Jun 2023. One required an urgent public notice within 24 hours (the kind behind boil-water notices), most recently Jun 2023. What to do if you get a notice.
- Pregnant, or mixing baby formula with tap water? Babies drink more water for their size, so PFAS exposure matters more for them. Consider bottled water or a filter certified for PFAS for formula, and ask your doctor. Health effects.
- To lower your PFAS exposure now, a home filter certified for PFAS reduction works (reverse osmosis, or activated carbon certified to NSF/ANSI 53 or 58). Filters for these results.
- Built before 1986, or not sure what your service line is made of? Check your service line and test your tap. Utility data can't show your pipes.
- Got a boil-water or do-not-drink notice? What each notice means and what to do.
- Tested your own tap? Compare your result with these numbers. Moving? Compare this system with another.
- Read City of Riviera Beach Utility District's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report). It lists every regulated contaminant tested and is usually on the utility's website or mailed with your bill, and you can also request it at (561) 845-4053. EPA: how to find it.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 1 entry point tested Sep 2024 to Mar 2025. "Average" is the highest entry-point average (non-detects counted as zero), the way EPA compares UCMR 5 results to the limits. ppt = parts per trillion. These results do not determine compliance.
| Contaminant | Highest average |
|---|---|
| PFOA Above limit Limit 4 ppt | 13.5 ppt 3.38× the limit |
| PFOS Above limit Limit 4 ppt | 27 ppt 6.75× the limit |
| PFHxS Detected, below limit Limit 10 ppt | 7.05 ppt 71% of the limit |
| PFNA Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| Hazard Index (a combined score for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS, where above 1 is over the limit) Detected, below limit Limit 1 | 0.71 |
| PFBS Detected, below limit Guideline 2,000 ppt | 3.45 ppt |
| PFBA Not detected Guideline 6,000 ppt | – |
| PFHxA Detected, below limit Guideline 3,000 ppt | 5.75 ppt |
| PFPeA Detected, no limit | 6.9 ppt |
| PFHpA Detected, no limit | 4.15 ppt |
For context: the PFOA average is higher than at 98% of the Florida systems EPA tested and the PFOS average is higher than at 95% of the Florida systems EPA tested.
29 PFAS tested, 7 detected at least once. "Not detected" means below EPA's reporting limit (about 2 to 20 ppt depending on the chemical), not proven zero. PFAS not listed were not detected. The limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and the Hazard Index were proposed for rescission in May 2026. That proposal is not final. Systems have until 2029 to meet the limits.
Lithium
Not detected in 2 samples (reporting limit 9 ppb). About lithium.
Lead and copper
Latest 90th percentile: 2.4 ppb lead (Jan 2023 – Dec 2023). Below action level
| Monitoring period | Lead (90th pct.) |
|---|---|
| Jan 2023 – Dec 2023 | 2.4 ppb |
| Jan 2020 – Dec 2020 | 2.1 ppb |
| Jan 2017 – Dec 2017 | 0.4 ppb |
Earlier results (9)
| Jul 2014 – Dec 2014 | 1.6 ppb |
| Jul 2011 – Dec 2011 | 1.9 ppb |
| Jul 2008 – Dec 2008 | 2 ppb |
| Jan 2002 – Dec 2002 | 1 ppb |
| Jan 1999 – Dec 1999 | 5 ppb |
| Jan 1996 – Dec 1996 | 0 ppb |
| Jan 1995 – Dec 1995 | 5 ppb |
| Jan 1994 – Dec 1994 | 6 ppb |
| Jan 1993 – Jun 1993 | 2 ppb |
Lead comes from pipes and fixtures, not the source water, so it varies home to home. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 sampled homes were at or below it. More on lead.
Violations
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Jun 2023 | E. coli was confirmed in the water. E. coli means the water may have been contaminated with sewage or animal waste. Urgent public notice required What that means EPA record: Revised Total Coliform Rule · Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, E. coli (RTCR) Archived |
| Jul 2017 – Jul 2018 5 times | The running annual average for TTHM was above the legal limit. EPA record: TTHM · Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · measured 89.6 ug/l (limit 0.080 mg/L) Resolved |
| Apr 2018 | The running annual average for Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) was above the legal limit. EPA record: Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) · Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · measured 74.9 ug/l (limit 0.060 mg/L) Resolved |
| Jan 2016 – Feb 2016 2 times | Too many samples in a month tested positive for coliform bacteria, a sign the system may be letting germs in. EPA record: Coliform (TCR) · Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) (limit 5% of samples) Resolved |
| Feb 2016 | Too many samples in a month tested positive for coliform bacteria, a sign the system may be letting germs in. EPA record: Coliform (TCR) · Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) (limit 5% of samples) Archived |
2 unresolved monitoring or reporting violations: Public Notice, Lead and Copper Rule.
Health-based violations mean a contaminant exceeded a limit or a required treatment step was missed. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or reports were late or missing, so the water's quality during that time is unknown. The total includes every violation in EPA's records, most of them paperwork.
Earlier EPA testing (2013–2020)
| Contaminant | Highest | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Manganese | 3.7 ppb | 300 ppb |
| 1,4-Dioxane | 0.28 ppb | 0.35 ppb |
| Chromium-6 | 0.29 ppb | – |
| Strontium | 0.87 ppm | 1.5 ppm |
| Vanadium | 0.58 ppb | 21 ppb |
Where it serves
Riviera Beach
ZIP codes the system reported serving: 33404, 33419
Nearby utilities
- Palm Beach County Water Utilities West Palm Beach · 4 mi · PFAS above limit
- West Palm Beach Water Treatment Plant West Palm Beach · 4 mi
- Seacoast Utilities Authority Palm Beach Gardens · 7 mi
- Town of Jupiter Public Water System Jupiter · 10 mi
- Village of Palm Springs Palm Springs · 10 mi · PFAS above limit
- Lake Worth Beach Utilities Lake Worth Beach · 11 mi · PFAS above limit
Questions
Is Riviera Beach tap water safe to drink?
Most of Riviera Beach gets its water from City of Riviera Beach Utility District. City of Riviera Beach Utility District had 10 health-based violations since 2016, all since resolved. EPA testing found PFAS above the 2024 federal limits, which systems must meet by 2029. Federal data can't tell you about your own pipes: lead comes from service lines and plumbing, so test your tap if your home was built before 1986. For the official word, read the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Does Riviera Beach water have PFAS?
Yes. EPA's 2023–2025 testing of City of Riviera Beach Utility District found 7 PFAS at least once. The highest entry-point averages were above the federal limit for PFOA and PFOS: PFOA 13.5 ppt, PFOS 27 ppt (limit 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt for the others).
What is the lead level in Riviera Beach water?
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result for City of Riviera Beach Utility District is 2.4 ppb, for the period ending Dec 2023. The federal action level is 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in November 2027. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below this number. Individual homes can be higher.
Check these numbers yourself
Every figure on this page comes from public EPA records. You don't have to take our word for it:
- EPA's own report for FL4501229: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID FL4501229).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- The utility's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report): ask City of Riviera Beach Utility District at (561) 845-4053, or see EPA's guide to finding it.
Found something that doesn't match? Tell us and we'll check it against EPA's records. How we check our data.
Source: U.S. EPA drinking water records and PFAS testing (UCMR 5). How we read the data.