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Laredo council directs staff to tighten backflow inspection and isolation after partial boil‑water notice
Summary
After a precautionary boil‑water notice traced to one residential backflow device, council voted to direct management to strengthen cross‑connection controls, review inspection/testing requirements, and create a zoning map to allow smaller‑area isolation during future events.
The City of Laredo voted to instruct management to develop new policy and operational measures aimed at reducing vulnerabilities in the water distribution system after a recent precautionary partial boil‑water notice traced to a residential backflow prevention device.
Mayor Victor D. Trevino reviewed the sequence of events and said the incident — isolated to a single residence but triggering cautionary measures — demonstrated how one point of failure can affect portions of a distribution system. Dr. Alsabet, representing the utilities department, described the city's rapid response: isolating the affected area, flushing and testing, and coordinating with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). “We knew this was for 6 hours ... the house, the lines were all flushed, hyperchlorinated. Everything was perfect within 6 hours,” Dr. Alsabet said.
Council members pressed on programmatic fixes. The motion the council approved asked management to bring back specific measures including strengthening the cross‑connection control program, reviewing inspection and testing requirements for backflow prevention devices, and creating a zone map that would allow the city to isolate smaller hydraulic zones instead of issuing citywide advisories. The motion passed after members discussed costs and operational constraints; Dr. Alsabet and staff said certifying more local testers and hiring additional inspectors would raise the program's cost and could affect utility rates.
Council members and staff also discussed fees and practical barriers residents face: staff cited an example cost of roughly $1,500 to replace a backflow device and about $200 for reinspection by a certified tester; councilors noted a shortage of certified plumbers and weighed city options for certification, contracting, or limited city provision of inspection services to reduce price‑gouging concerns.
Council voted to return with a staff report and recommended actions, including potential short‑term steps (public education on backflow devices, improved sampling stations) and longer‑term asset‑management measures (updated valve maps, targeted valve exercising and hydraulic zoning) to reduce the scale of future precautionary notices.
