Riviera Beach manager was asked to wait on reporting water contamination

Riviera Beach Special Utility Compliance Manager Margie DeBerry said superiors asked her to "wait" on sending potential violations to the Palm Beach County Health Department, according to records WPTV's Ethan Stein received from a public records request.

“[Former Utility Director Michael] Low said we should probably wait for the health department to ask for more information," she told an independent investigator in an interview during an investigation into morale within the workplace. "He didn’t say to not provide it. But he just said we should wait."

DeBerry said she got a similar opinion from Assistant Utility Director Stephen Doyle. But she ignored her supervisor's advice and sent months of unreported tests to the health department. The city is now under investigation for breaking state or federal laws related to water quality 189 times, which could result in a fine.

Riviera Beach

This city is under investigation for breaking water quality laws 189 times

Ethan Stein

DeBerry said she found the unreported tests while responding to public records requests and the Office of the Inspector General in Palm Beach County, who is investigating the utility's response to a water contamination event in June 2023. She said all of the current violations were avoidable.

"Any current violations we have, those could have been avoided," DeBerry told an independent investigator during a conversation with other utility employees lasting over an hour. "Again, had the information been reported properly and had the follow-up actions been taken."

Riviera Beach's Special Utility District Board, which is made up of city council members, fired Low in July 2024 . Doyle left the city shortly after Low's termination. But, DeBerry said the unreported tests were also going to Water Treatment Plant Superintendent Melvin Pinkney after the last compliance manager left the city's utility.

DeBerry is the third utility employee to claim supervisors stopped employees from reporting or fixing problems in the utility.

Two Riviera Beach Special Utility Employees said staff members stopped them from fixing issues within the utility at a meeting Wednesday night when answering questions from the public about the city's water quality.

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John Armstrong, the senior engineer for the utility district, said on Wednesday he was at the meeting with the health department and other employees to discuss a problem related to a 2023 water contamination event in June.

He said he pushed management to issue the public notice after the meeting and failed multiple times.

“We need to issue it as soon as possible,” Armstrong recalled saying to staff. “I brought that up several times after that meeting that same month and the public notice didn’t go out until the following year.”

Armstrong said some of the details around the delay weren’t told to administration or council and he hasn’t been contacted by the Office of Inspector General of Palm Beach County, who is conducting an independent investigation into the issue.

People attending the meeting about water quality asked for other staff members, who were involved in the meeting or aware of the issue. Armstrong couldn’t answer more questions as he was cut off by Assistant City Manager Deirdre Jacobs because he was “uncomfortable” during the conversations.

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"It’s been bothering me for a long time,” he said. "You see this on the news.”

Amilio Brown, who also works at the utility in a senior position, said staff members also asked him to not report certain issues related to the utility’s sewer system. He said he took the issue to the Office of Inspector General of Palm Beach County.

“I supplied him with all the evidence,” Brown said. “I had a whole folder and I handed it to him so there will be a report from the OIG that will be separate from the water [contamination].”