Delray Beach Environmental Official Resigns Amid Allegations of Falsifying Water Quality Reports

The city of Delray Beach's environmental compliance manager, Dr. Anthony Williams, resigned on November 20, just days before a damning report by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) implicated him in falsifying water quality reports. The inquiry into the Riviera Beach Special Utility District by the OIG found that Williams failed to report and provided altered information to the Florida Department of Health, concerning key water safety metrics, including bacteria levels that could signal the presence of human or animal waste, according to a WPTV report.

The fallout from these revelations continues to spread as the city braces for potential fines linked to the misconduct. Previously, Dr. Williams had faced scrutiny over his actions at the city of Riviera Beach's Special Utility District, where an internal investigation, cited by WFLX, connected his departure to a sequence of water contamination incidents leading to hefty fines for the city.

In Delray Beach, uncertainty lingers as it's unclear if similar incidents occurred under Williams' tenure, and the city has not responded to additional questions beyond confirming the end of his employment. Dr. Williams' attorney has pushed back against the OIG's findings, declaring "The Office of Inspector General that the denied the OIG’s finding’s regarding any and all misconduct along with their conclusions, summaries and opinions regarding any statements made by Dr. Williams to the OIG," in a statement obtained by WPTV.

Meanwhile, residents of Riviera Beach are voicing their concerns over the lack of progress from council members in discussing the OIG's report. Derrick Burns, a resident, expressed his dissatisfaction to WPTV, "They act as if we don’t care,” Burns said.  “And we do care because we are residents here. We live here in the city of Riviera Beach…We just want them to be transparent with us.” As of this writing, Riviera Beach has yet to set a date for discussing the Inspector General’s report, and the city did not return a request for comment on the delay to WPTV by the time of publication.