RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Riviera Beach’s Special Utility District is under investigation for fabricating and changing water quality tests, according to documents WPTV News journalist Ethan Stein received from a public records request.
The health department provided city officials with two versions of the same water quality test, but one version had positive tests for total coliform removed from the page.
In another instance, a “P” marking "positive" tests for total coliform were turned into an “A” for "absent," then submitted to the health department.
After submitting the changed water tests to the health department in Palm Beach County, records show then-compliance manager Dr. Anthony Williams asked for permission bring those same wells back into service.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the city of Riviera Beach, total coliform is an indicator that human or animal waste is in the water. The city could also face fines as a result of the investigation.
The utility district paid a fine for about $80,000 due to its response to a water contamination event in June 2023, where it waited seven months to notify the public about E. coli in the city’s drinking water. The district also faces potential fines for 189 other potential violations of state and/or federal law related to water quality and testing.
The documents in question are signed by the Lisa Fiedor, a project manager at a third party company called Capzer Pharmaceuticals, which performs water quality tests. WPTV News journalist Ethan Stein reached out to the company and Fiedor about the health department’s claim. Fiedor told us she was instructed to not speak by the Office of Inspector General for Palm Beach County.
The Office of the Inspector General is also investigating the city’s response to the June 2023 water contamination event in a separate investigation, which is using public funds from the city of Riviera Beach. An employee also said last week he expects another investigation into him being told not to report problems related to the city’s sewer system.
The city of Riviera Beach didn’t immediately return our request for comment.
