RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Unlike in past water contamination events, the Special Utilities District for Riviera Beach will pay the full price for fines after the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County said it broke state law 13 times.
The utility faces a fine worth about $80,000 due to its response after fecal bacteria got into people's drinking water in June. WPTV was the first to report on the seven-month delay in January, ultimately leading to Utility Director Michael Low being fired on Wednesday.
Water quality issues are systemic within the utility. A report from 2016 found 21 different enforcement actions against the utility due to issues with the water, which included several fines. Most of these fines were ultimately paid "in-kind," meaning the health department can require the utility to spend money on repairing their utility's infrastructure.
Michael Low said the utility, governed by the City Council of Riviera Beach, wasn't allowed to pay the new fine "in-kind" and will have to pay the full amount assessed by the health department. Council members expressed disappointment in losing around $80,000 of taxpayer money before firing Low.
WPTV Investigates
Riviera Beach employee morale report revealed more trouble with utility district
"An administrative error costing our residents $80,000 is unacceptable," Council Member Douglas Larson said. "That is not something we should be able to stand for when it comes to the fact of a simple notice should have been sent to the health district."
Originally, Low said the water contamination event didn't occur because the water treatment plant fixed the problem. However, this wasn't correct and became another reason the health department fined the utility. Low lost his job Wednesday night after a unanimous vote from council, but Miller-Anderson missed the vote.
Council member Kashamba Miller-Anderson said she was extremely disappointed the health department didn't allow the utility to spend the money on repairs. She said she believes this occurred because staff tried to hide the water contamination event.
“I would venture to say probably because in the way this went on," Miller-Anderson said. "It seems like they aren't bending to allow us to give us any types of breaks to fix the situation...This didn't have to happen this way."
Council member Shirley Lanier said she also believes the fine was more significant because the utility hid information.
WPTV Investigates
Here's what next for Riviera Beach after utility director fired
WHY IS MONEY IMPORTANT?
The district needs money to create a new water treatment plant since the current plant is about 25 years past its lifespan. The project, which was originally supposed to start construction in 2023, is still in the design phase. This occurred after the board voted to pause on picking a design after consultants paid by the city couldn't provide a baseline cost for three different designs in April.
WPTV reporter Ethan Stein also found the cost of the water plant doubled from about $150 million to $300 million after delays with construction. City staff said it couldn't afford the new price tag in April, which means the utility will need to raise rates on customers if it can’t get grants.
WPTV’s Ethan Stein uncovered emails from a public records request showing the city believed the contamination was a "false positive," yet didn’t use standard test practices to confirm their theory.
Emails show this occurred because employees were scared due to threats from other customers. Our chief investigator Jamie Ostroff discovered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found holes in well casings, leaking pumps and plants growing out of equipment in October 2023, four months after the positive tests for water contamination.
We’ve also found other positive tests for water contamination, which the city said are false positives.
Assistant Director Steven Doyle said the utility deals with a similar number of emergencies as a fire department at Wednesday night’s meeting. Low also said a new water treatment plant wouldn’t solve the issues within the utility alone.
"The issues within the district go way beyond just wanting a water plant," he said on Wednesday night.
