Riviera Beach board fires their utility director. Here’s why

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — The City of Riviera Beach agreed Wednesday to pay $80,842.60 in fines and administrative costs for taking seven months to warn people about positive tests for fecal bacteria.

The fines come after the Palm Beach County Department of Health found the city’s Special Utility District broke Florida law 13 times after discovering coliform and fecal bacteria from treated water supplied to customers. The utility, which is governed by Riviera Beach, serves customers both in the city and some surrounding areas outside the city.

WPTV has been navigating the numerous issues and holding officials within the city’s utility system accountable over the past seven months.

January 2024: We found the city waited seven months to warn customers about the positive test for water contamination.

February 2024: Emails from records we uncovered found the city believed the tests were false positives and didn’t use standard retesting methods due to employees receiving threats in the past.

February 2024: We uncovered records also show the city performed an investigation into the incident in September 2023 which presented solutions, three months before the water contamination was announced to the public.

April 2024: WPTV discovered an investigation from the federal Environmental Protection Agency that 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.

The city is now facing a lawsuit over the water contamination.

Riviera Beach Councilmember Shirley Lanier said she doesn’t have confidence in Utility Director Michael Low. She said this was very disturbing and isn’t happy the council wasn’t notified.

“For the record I have no confidence in the utilities director in terms of doing work at the water plant, providing information to the council about the water plant,” Lanier said. “I just don’t have it.”

She said she believed Low misled the council, who had people coming to them begging for information about the water.

Councilmember Douglas Lawson, who is also the chairperson of the council, said he’s also annoyed at the communication from city staff.

Low led to the utility’s push for a new water treatment plant, which will cost around $300 Million. The treatment plant has been floated as a permanent solution to issues with the special utility districts’ water utility. Low also argued he wasn’t at work when the original water contamination event occurred in June 2023, which started their issues with the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County.

The Riviera Beach Utility District Board voted 4-0 July 17 to terminate Utility Director Michael Low after issues regarding contaminated drinking water in the city.

Councilmember Dr. Glen Spirits said he’s upset with the progress of the new water treatment plant. He doesn’t believe the problems are the fault of one person, but a system due to issues with the districts’ utility in 2016.

“I don’t blame you,” he said. “I blame our engineers…I’m wondering how long it’s going to take to solve the issues within our water system.”

Council member Kashamba Miller-Anderson said she’s upset the city has to pay with a check rather than through action with projects. She said she believed this occurred because of the way the city handled the problems during this event and blamed Low for a more suspicious
public.

“Nothing I was saying then was being believed,” Miller-Anderson. “And now that we’re here a year and a half later trying to explain what happened back then is very difficult.”

She also said she had no confidence in Low.

Council member Lanier made a motion for a “no confidence” vote, but it didn’t occur because of a disagreement if the board could fire Utility Director Michael Low.

Low argued he wasn’t at work when the original water contamination event occurred in June 2023, which started their issues with the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County.

The board said Assistant Executive Director Steven Doyle is supposed to assume the position, but said he will likely quit if Low gets fired.