By Jane Musgrave
Delray Beach on Wednesday agreed to pay $818,500 to settle a lawsuit filed by a former utilities worker, who claimed she was fired for reporting that water from the city’s reclaimed water system was making people and pets sick.
The settlement, announced April 5 in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, came a day after attorneys for former city worker Christine Ferrigan and the city spent a day on a Zoom call, remotely hashing out their differences under the guidance of U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman.
Had the warring parties failed to reach an accord, a federal jury next week would have decided whether the 65-year-old Ferrigan deserved what could have been millions in damages for being fired in January 2022 after reporting her concerns to state health officials.
The settlement, which splits the money between the worker-turned-whistleblower and her lawyers, is expected to be approved by the City Commission on April 18. City Manager Terrence Moore and Utilities Director Hassan Hadjimiry, also named in the suit, signed off on the agreement. Neither they nor the city admitted any wrongdoing.
In a statement, Ferrigan said she hoped her lawsuit and the agreement she reached with the city will empower others.
“Today’s settlement is about more than me — it’s about whistleblowers everywhere who are standing up for community safety,” she said. “The people of Delray Beach, and people everywhere, deserve clean water and to know when their health is at risk. I hope today’s settlement will encourage potential whistleblowers everywhere to speak up and know their legal protections.”
Her attorneys, from the Washington, D.C. law firm Mehri & Skalet, and the Palm Beach Gardens office of Cohen Milstein, echoed Ferrigan’s sentiments. They lauded her for fighting to make sure city residents have safe water to drink.
“Christine Ferrigan took courageous action by blowing the whistle on dangerous water contamination in Delray Beach,” they said in a joint statement. “Today’s settlement is a step towards justice for Ms. Ferrigan, for the citizens of Delray Beach, and for whistleblowers and public health advocates everywhere.”
In a separate statement, city officials also praised Ferrigan.
“The parties have reached a mutually acceptable resolution of the dispute regarding Ms. Ferrigan’s respective separation from the city,” said Moore. “The city thanks Ms. Ferrigan and recognizes her contributions to the City’s Utilities Department.”
The settlement ends a disturbing – and expensive – chapter in the city’s history.
The city paid a $1 million fine to the state in December 2021 after a lengthy investigation by Palm Beach County health officials confirmed that partially treated reclaimed water had been allowed to mix with drinking water supplies.
Ten years after the reclaimed water program was instituted, residents in 2018 began complaining that their drinking water was smelly, yellow with algae, and sandy, and that some residents and their pets were getting sick, according to Ferrigan’s lawsuit.
The Health Department got involved in January 2020 after a South Ocean Boulevard resident called to say she was not properly informed of a cross connection found on her street in December 2018. A cross connection occurs when reclaimed water pipes used for lawn irrigation are wrongly connected to the drinking water lines.
Health officials found that the city failed to implement its Cross Connection Control Program when the reclaimed water system was launched in 2008. It also found the city violated at least nine regulatory standards.
Ferrigan, hired in 2017 as an industrial pre-treatment inspector, reported water quality problems to her supervisors, she said in her lawsuit. When they failed to act, she reported her concerns to both the Palm Beach County Inspector General’s Office and health officials.
In response, she was fired, she claimed. City officials insisted she was dismissed as part of a reorganization designed to promote “efficiency and austerity.”
In addition to paying the fine and $21,000 for the state agency’s investigation, the city spent more than $1 million on inspections and adding missing backflow preventers to stop the reclaimed water from mixing with drinking water. It remains under a five-year consent order, requiring it to properly monitor the system.
This is the second time Ferrigan has received a settlement from a Palm Beach County city after filing a whistleblower complaint. She received $322,500 and her attorneys were paid $215,000 to settle a lawsuit she filed against Boca Raton after she claimed she was improperly fired from its utility department in 2008. The money was paid by the city’s insurer and Boca Raton officials did not admit any wrongdoing.
It also marks the second time in a week that Delray officials agreed to settle a high-profile lawsuit. On March 31, city commissioners asked their legal team to negotiate a settlement with the nonprofit that sued the city after it was ousted from its longtime control of Old School Square.
The nonprofit, Old School Square Center for the Arts, lost its contract to run the city’s signature arts center in August 2021. City managers said it failed to turn over financial records and mishandled the renovation of Crest Theatre. The removal inflamed the center’s monied patrons.
After the nonprofit sued the city in November 2021 for violating the lease and state open meeting laws, the city counter-sued for breach of contract.
While details of the proposed settlement haven’t been made public, an attorney for the nonprofit said both sides will drop their legal claims.
Jane Smith contributed to this story.
This story was updated to include additional comments.
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