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Laredo hires water-quality firm; city shortlisted for $43M lead-service-line project and weighs costly secondary-source options
Summary
City staff told the advisory committee it has engaged Corallo Engineering to assess plant operations, expects chlorine-dioxide units in March, and reported the city’s $43 million TWDB lead-service-line request has been shortlisted; staff also described groundwater and tertiary-reuse options and warned about cost and affordability trade-offs.
City utilities staff updated the advisory committee on several water-quality and long-term water-supply items, from an engineering engagement and disinfection changes to a major grant application for lead service-line work and exploration of secondary water sources.
Water-quality consultant: "Corallo Engineering" (the firm name appears in the transcript in multiple spellings) was approved by the city council to conduct a detailed assessment of the city’s treatment plants, staff said. Dr. T told the committee the firm will evaluate clarifiers, filters, chlorine systems and other plant equipment and is expected to help identify upgrades that could reduce summer taste-and-odor spikes. "If this project goes as it should be ... we should hopefully see changes in the water quality and improvements by end of this year," Dr. T said.
Disinfection changes: Staff reported chlorine dioxide units are targeted for March installations at the Jefferson and Alpico plants, and the department will periodically switch from chloramine to free chlorine on a six-month cycle to reduce legacy contaminants.
Lead service-line application: Committee members discussed the city’s application to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) drinking-water state revolving fund. Staff said the city’s project was shortlisted (staff said the city is roughly sixth in the round) and that the requested amount was $43,000,000. The TWDB process, staff said, generally requires staged submissions (inventory first, replacement later) if a community is invited to proceed.
Inventory progress: Staff reported progress on the service-line inventory, stating that GIS work covers roughly 70% of the city’s lines and that material information exists for approximately 40,000–45,000 of about 70,000 service connections—data that would support a TWDB inventory and replacement application.
Secondary water-source options and costs: Staff described a tripartite agreement with Legacy Group and Webb County to assess a brackish groundwater source about 16 miles north of Laredo for blending or desalination, and discussed using tertiary-treated wastewater in Casablanca Lake for storage and reuse as an interim or supplemental resource. Staff cautioned that securing a second source is expensive and highlighted affordability trade-offs: staff cited an example of another community that took a large TWDB loan (seat-of-the-chair example given in transcript as roughly $185 million) and subsequently experienced a substantial tax increase, using that example to underscore the long-term cost implications.
Next steps: Staff said they will finalize the Corallo contract, send the TWDB public-comment link, and bring CIP details and any council ratifications back to the advisory committee for feedback. Because no quorum was present, no formal votes were taken at this meeting.
