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McALLEN — Laredo residents are free to use their water after an 11-day boil water advisory expired earlier this week.
City officials announced the end of the warning and vowed to address the factors believed to have caused the city’s water crisis. These factors include illegal connections to the city’s water supply system and decades-old pipes that need to be replaced.
Laredo Mayor Victor D. Treviño announced the city will begin an amnesty program for illegal plumbing connections to encourage residents to report possible violations after the city identified more than 200 bad or illegal connections during its investigation.
People who report illicit relationships during the amnesty period will not be subject to fines or penalties.
“Since there were over 200 violations found in central Laredo alone, I think it stands to reason that there are many more across the city,” Treviño said during a news conference Wednesday.
The city lifted the citywide boil water advisory Monday after it had been in place since Oct. 10. It was first introduced when E. coli was found in water. A city of more than 256,000 people, Laredo is one of the most populous to issue a boil water notice after Houston did so in 2022. It is also the latest in Texas to deal with the consequences potentially caused by the outdated water infrastructure.
During the investigation, city officials identified outdated water mains throughout the city as a possible factor in the water crisis.
More than 30 percent of their water mains are over 50 years old, Laredo City Manager Joseph Neeb said, adding that they intend to replace those pipes.
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“Now that we’re discovering the extent of the problem, our goal is to help fix it,” Nieb said.
Treviño reiterated his plans to provide discounts to residents on their water bills 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 scheduled for Nov. 7.
Amid the fallout from the pollution, the city’s utilities department remains in a state of flux. Arturo Garcia, the city’s assistant director of utilities, resigned from his post last week.
The city declined to provide further details about Garcia’s resignation, but Nieb said the utilities department was in the midst of restructuring.
To lead the department, the City Council approved a six-month, $200,000 contract with consulting group Strategic Government Resources to provide an interim utilities director and provide a report on how the department can improve.
They also hope to fill other needed positions, including inspectors and engineers.
“Now that the emergency is over, the real work begins,” Nieb said.
Rio Grande Valley Reporting is supported in part by Methodist Health Ministries of South Texas, Inc.