Fired Water Employee Wins Hearing to Get Job Back

ATLANTA - Terry Riggins said she had a duty to report what co-workers told her about the use of unclean sewer tools and equipment being taken on water construction jobs. 

It was a public statement to the city council regarding the threat of possible contamination which led to the water analyst being shown the door by the city.

Managers claimed that neither Riggins nor the workers who advised her knew what they were talking about.

The dispute went before the personnel board at city hall. The panel heard both sides and came back with a decision, overturning that firing. 

Riggins said she feels vindicated and hopes the public understands she was only trying to warn of a practice which posed an unnecessary risk to the water supply.

A spokesperson for City Atlanta City Water Chief Jo Ann Macrina said there is and has never been a threat to the water from the use of equipment. There are limited occasions when a piece of sewer equipment is taken to a water project, but the spokesperson said there is disinfectant sprayed on the equipment first.