TCEQ finds chloroform compounds in new water sample; boil water notice continues

The city of Laredo updated the boil water notice impacting about 70% of residents late Sunday night.

The city said the notice continues for all residents served by the Jefferson Water Treatment Plant following a positive E. coli water sample earlier this week. Officials previously said they believed the contamination was isolated to a residential area within the J.S.J. neighborhood.

 “The health and safety of our residents remains our highest priority,” Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor Trevino said in a statement. “While this extension is not the outcome we hoped for, we respect the regulatory process and will continue working closely with TCEQ to ensure all requirements are fully met before the notice is lifted. We appreciate our community’s continued patience and understanding.”

In the affected area, the city said it has collected more than 50 bacteriological water samples and submitted them to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. All came back negative.

Despite the results, TCEQ warned the city it needed additional evaluation “following the detection of chloroform compounds in one sample.” That led to 50 more samples being collected and sent to TCEQ.

Results from the latest samples are expected Monday evening, the city said.

The development means the boil water notice will remain in effect for the time being.

The city added that the Jefferson Water Treatment Plant is functioning normally and that both pressure and disinfectant measurements remain within standard levels. It said utilities will continue “enhanced flushing operations, system monitoring and additional sampling in coordination with TCEQ requirements.”

Trevino said he felt TCEQ was being a bit heavy-handed with the city because of its extensive history of boil water notices, including nine in the past decade.

“In my opinion, TCEQ has taken a very strict approach in Laredo because of previous experiences, and while we understand our shared responsibility to protect public health, the city has formally requested additional guidance on the use of rapid testing methods and more targeted mitigation strategies that would allow us to isolate impacted areas rather than implement broad, citywide measures,” the mayor added. “Our goal is to ensure that our response is not only safe, but also precise and appropriate, minimizing unnecessary disruption to our residents and local businesses.”

For more information, contact the Laredo Utilities Department at 956-721-2000.

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