City addresses major waterline break

By DAVID LOPEZ
Special to the NEWS

A waterline break occurred at 4 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7, on Business 77 near Dick Dowling. leaving residents near downtown San Benito without running water for close to five days. The break left some residents (who chose not to go on record) feeling neglected by the City, as the issue was not resolved until the following Tuesday morning.

City of San Benito Public Relations Director David Favila stated that the leak was reported by City water plant operators at around 4 a.m. when they noticed a drop in water pressure. City crews were then immediately dispatched to the sight.

“Water service was out for much of Friday, but was restored to residents late that night and water remained on throughout the weekend as City crews worked to isolate the leak, which was ultimately fixed very early Tuesday morning,” Favila stated in an email.

However, residents who wished to remain unidentified said their water was out throughout the weekend and only restored until Monday.

Favila further stated the fix was a complicated process, as “a natural gas line was in close proximity. City crews had to ensure the gas line was not ruptured to avoid further complications.”

Mayor Rick Guerra spoke with the NEWS to clarify the rumors that the City delayed fixing the issue because it was unwilling to hire outside assistance.

“City workers had to wait for the locators to come in before they could do any digging, so it took a couple of hours, and by the time they could get anything going and the locators could address everything and find all the utility lines, they found out there was a natural gas pipeline, a six or eight-inch, that goes all the way to Port of Brownsville,” Guerra said.

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