RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A day after Riviera Beach's water utility director was fired, WPTV wanted to hear what members of the community thought about the move.
WPTV has been following this story since January when city officials waited seven months to announce that a well tested positive for E. coli.
On Thursday, we talked to two residents who feel Utility Director Michael Low wasn't totally honest about the water, but said he wasn't the only one responsible. Now, they are waiting to see who else will be held accountable for the communication issues.
Shandra Stringer, a 23-year Riviera Beach resident, described Wednesday night's meeting as tiring and emotionally draining. She's been going to these meetings for months.
"When I leave the council meetings, I don't sleep," Stringer said. "I'm tired, I'm lethargic, I'm emotionally drained and last night it was that times 10."
Her concern with losing Low is that the city right now has major projects, and finding a qualified replacement will cost money and precious time.
"Six months, a year, who knows we'll see when we find out how they're going to handle this, how they're going to fill this gap," Stringer said. "Why would anybody walk into a burning building knowing that there's a fire that's already there?"
Stringer said while she feels Low wasn't completely honest about the city's water, she feels he wasn't the only one responsible. She said she's now waiting to see who else will be held accountable for the past communication issues informing the public.
"There is no earthly way leadership would not have known about this situation," Stringer said. "He isn't the only one that shouldn't have been disciplined.
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'No confidence': Riviera Beach board fires their utility director. Here's why
She said she's now waiting to see who else will be held accountable for the past communication issues informing the public.
Riviera Beach resident Scott Lewis agrees.
"As I understand it there were like eight or nine other people who were on this email chain, on the initial one where we were having poo-poo in our drinking water," Lewis sid. "None of them and no one above Mr. Low gets even a discipline letter saying, 'Hey, you guys get slapped for doing something wrong,' no one."
He said he's gone to multiple meetings talking about that topic with no response.
He assessed the water in Riviera Beach as "clear" but said he still doesn't trust it or the city council.
Lewis and Stringer said their water quality has improved since the beginning of the year, but they both still rely on bottled water.
More coverage of Riviera Beach's water woes:
WPTV Investigates
Riviera Beach issues public notice over water quality
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4 council members unaware water contamination investigation ended 3 months later
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Council members break promise to get answers on water contamination
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Video shows fight between 2 City Council members
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Another water sample tested positive for fecal bacteria in August
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