Yellow water, low pressure reported as Laredo restores water service

As the city of Laredo continues restoring water service following a break in a 36-inch water transmission line connected to the Lyon water tank, some residents may continue to experience low water pressure and temporary water discoloration.

The break was reported at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. Residents later took to social media to report water outages and low water pressure. As of 9:56 a.m. Wednesday, the Laredo Utilities Department outage map showed low water pressure near East Lyon Street and North Meadow Avenue.

According to the city, the outage has affected portions of west, central and southeast Laredo.

City officials said the water main has been repaired, but restoring service is taking longer because the Lyon water tanks must first refill before normal water pressure can return throughout the system.

“While the break has been successfully repaired, restoring water service is taking longer because the Lyon Tanks must first refill before normal water pressure can return throughout the system,” the city said.

Because water levels in the tanks dropped significantly, some residents may notice yellow-tinged water coming from their faucets. Laredo Public Information Manager Noraida Negron said the discoloration is temporary and not a cause for concern.

One couple living in the 1900 block of Washington Street said they experienced both low water pressure and discolored water Wednesday evening.

“We were putting water to boil when we just noticed it looked dirty,” Ariel Sanchez said. “We were pretty concerned, so we used our filtered water.”

She said the disruptions extended beyond her neighborhood.

“My coworker actually didn’t have any water by the hospital here at LMC,” Sanchez said. “It’s been affecting a lot of areas. It’s an inconvenience.”

Sanchez said she wished residents had received advance notice about the disruption. According to the city of Laredo Utilities Department’s social media account, the water line break occurred around noon Wednesday at 1019 Constantinople Ave., but the department did not publicly announce the incident until about 10 p.m.

Negron said the temporary discoloration is expected while the Lyon water tanks refill and the system returns to normal.

“You will see that because the tanks are filling up right now,” Negron said. “The tank was so low, whatever is inside the tank is going to come out. We will fix that quickly with the flushing. You’ll start seeing a difference soon.”

The city said flushing cannot begin until the tanks have been replenished. Previous estimates indicate it could take about five to eight hours for the tanks to return to normal levels before water pressure is fully restored.

The city said the water remains safe to use.