By james art LAREDO, Texas (KGNS) – While the boil water advisory is no longer in effect, the new emergency declaration is still in effect.
On Sunday, October 20, the City of Laredo issued a new Emergency Boil Water Notice, adding new actions in accordance with Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s October 16 Emergency Declaration.
According to Sunday’s press release, the city is working closely with TCEQ and Governor Abbott’s office to ensure the safety of drinking water. The press release states that investigations, inspections and water testing will continue to maintain safe water quality.
Mayor Dr. Victor D. Treviño said, “These emergency measures are necessary and have been taken to protect public health and move toward restoring public trust. We must put personal ties and politics aside to put people first. It all starts with the truth.”
The same day, the City of Laredo was still working to resolve the Boil Water Notice, providing an update on important findings and steps to address the situation. Ongoing investigations have uncovered more than 200 cases of bad or illegal connections. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact source, city officials believe these problems may be the cause of the ongoing water quality problems.
Treviño added: “We’ve found more than 200 violations so far, which I think is indicative of a broken system and past leadership in the utilities department. Our goal is not only to get out of the boil notice, but to conduct a complete restructuring of our utilities department. This is a necessary step to focus on improving our infrastructure and restoring public trust. We must end the era of politics and stand up for the people!”
To help fix the problem, the city has reduced the number of regular water tests to 49 and added 11 special tests to detect possible sources of contamination. According to city officials, these additional tests will help determine why the bacteria levels are high.
The press release states that flushing the water lines helped remove the biofilm that had built up over time. This biofilm caused the high levels of bacteria seen in recent water tests, the press release said. The city added that continued flushing will help clear biofilm and improve water quality.
On Thursday, October 10, the city of Laredo declared a local state of emergency after issuing a citywide boil water advisory. This disaster declaration lasted from noon on Friday, October 11th until noon on Friday, October 18th.
This new emergency order states that it will remain in effect until October 25, unless extended.
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