By Jane Smith
Delray Beach has denied it retaliated against a former water quality inspector, who was reorganized out of her city job in January.
In its Aug. 31 motion to dismiss Christine Ferrigan’s federal lawsuit, the city said that it followed procedures and that Ferrigan had avenues to protest her denial of promotions and new jobs, but did not make use of them.
Ferrigan, who had received Florida whistleblower protection in September 2020 from the county’s inspector general for her reclaimed water information, said she was let go in January after filing a written retaliation complaint against two of her Utilities Department supervisors.
No hearing date was set as of Oct. 31 for the city’s motion. A trial date is set for April 2023. Before the trial, federal lawsuits must go through mediation. On Sept. 9, Robyn Hankins of Jupiter was selected to be the mediator.
Since December, Delray Beach has been operating under a five-year consent order, a legal agreement, with the state Department of Health for the city’s reclaimed water problems.
Hired in June 2017, Ferrigan often sided with the barrier island residents and provided information to the Health Department, which began its investigation of the city’s reclaimed water system in January 2020.
That is when a South Ocean Boulevard resident complained she was not properly informed of a 2018 cross connection found on her street. A cross connection occurs when reclaimed water pipes are wrongly connected to the drinking water lines. Reclaimed water is highly treated wastewater suitable only for irrigation, not consumption.
When that cross connection was discovered, the city issued a boil-water order for a southern piece of the barrier island. The then-utilities director did not report people and their pets were sickened possibly from drinking the contaminated water, as required by the Health Department. Ferrigan told her supervisor about the illnesses.
In February 2020, the city agreed to turn off its reclaimed water system and inspect each location. It has spent more than $1 million on inspections and adding the backflow preventers to stop the reclaimed water from mixing with the drinking water. The state fined it $1 million.
The county’s Office of Inspector General released a report in May 2021 that did not find any person or agency or city department liable for the reclaimed water problems.
The city started its reclaimed water program in 2008, using outside contractors to design, install and inspect the pipes, primarily on the barrier island. Most of the records from the first 10 years no longer exist and no one has been with the city long enough to explain what happened to the documents.
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