Laredo ends the boil water notice after 11 days, draws attention to illegal connections and old pipes

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McALLEN — Laredo residents can freely use their water after an 11-day boil water notice expired earlier this week.

City authorities announced the end of the warning and pledged to address the factors that likely caused the city’s water crisis. These factors include illegal connections to the municipal water supply network and decades-old pipes that need to be replaced.

Laredo Mayor Victor D. Treviño announced that the city will launch an illegal water connection amnesty program to encourage residents to report possible violations after a city investigation identified more than 200 bad or illegal connections.

People who report illegal connections during the amnesty period will not be subject to fines or penalties.

“Since over 200 violations were detected in the central area of ​​Laredo alone, I believe there are many more violations in the city,” Treviño said during a news conference Wednesday.

On Monday, the city lifted a citywide boil water advisory after it had been in effect since Oct. 10. They were first introduced after E. coli bacteria were detected in water. Laredo, a city of more than 256,000 people, is one of the most populous to issue a boil water order after Houston did so in 2022. It is also the latest Texas city to address consequences potentially caused by outdated water infrastructure.

During an investigation, city officials identified outdated water pipes throughout the city as a possible cause of the water crisis.

More than 30% of their water mains are over 50 years old, said Laredo City Manager Joseph Neeb, adding that they intend to replace the pipes.

“Now that we’re discovering the scope of the problem, our goal is to help solve it,” Neeb said.

Treviño has reiterated plans to provide water bill discounts to residents and provide financial assistance to businesses. To keep the public informed, the city is also planning a series of town hall meetings, the first of which is tentatively scheduled for November 7.

Faced with the effects of contamination, the city’s utilities department is in constant flux. Arturo Garcia, the city’s deputy media director, resigned last week.

The city declined to provide more details about Garcia’s resignation, but Neeb said the utilities department was in the process of restructuring.

To run the department, the city council approved a six-month, $200,000 contract with the consulting group Strategic Government Resources to appoint an interim media director and provide a report on ways to improve the department.

They also hope to fill other needed positions, including inspectors and engineers.

“Now that the emergency is over, the real work begins,” Neeb said.

Case reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.