Weslaco officials report UV-module failure but say water systems back in compliance

Mayor Adrian Gonzalez called the meeting to order and city utilities staff gave an operational update on the city’s water and wastewater plants.

Mark Garza, who presented the utilities report, said the city treated about 7,250,000 gallons a day in June and that the Northwest plant is running at roughly 53% capacity while the South plant is at about 68%. He said the city is meeting Texas Commission on Environmental Quality limits and that there are no current regulatory violations.

Garza explained the reason for a recent E. coli-related concern at the South plant: “Moisture got into the UV module and obviously it burned out the whole system,” he said, describing a domino effect that took multiple UV components offline. He told commissioners the city will receive replacement UV modules around September and that operators perform daily monitoring to keep the plants within regulatory standards.

Commissioners pressed staff on what the city is doing to prevent similar moisture intrusions in the future; Garza said staff lifts modules pre-emptively when heavy rain is forecast and that the planned UV-system replacement approved by the commission should prevent repeat failures.

The presentation also noted recent capital improvements (new rotor blades and equipment) and steps to secure access to treatment facilities; Mayor Gonzalez said the city is coordinating with Police Chief Lopez for security assessments of plant sites.

The utilities report closed with staff saying current operations are “back to normal” and in compliance while the new UV modules and other scheduled equipment arrive.