The City of Victoria has begun implementing corrective measures for our water system after learning more about the internal factors that led to each of the City’s recent boil-water notices.

During a specially called meeting Aug. 13, City Manager Jesús A. Garza provided a comprehensive update on the findings of the water system review subcommittee appointed by Mayor Duane Crocker to identify and implement measures to improve the integrity of the City’s water system. The meeting began with remarks from the mayor. 

“The causes of these boil-water notices have been identified, and they are operational in nature,” Mayor Crocker said. “Our responsibility as your City leadership is to deal in facts, make informed decisions and act in the best interest of our community. Our intent is not to act in haste, but to act with precision and purpose.” 

First boil-water notice (July 9-15)

Like many municipal water systems, the City of Victoria uses chloramines (a combination of chlorine and ammonia) as its primary disinfection method. Although this method is safe and effective, the natural conversion of ammonia and other compounds into nitrites (known as nitrification) can lead to lower chlorine residuals over time.

In addition to the annual chlorine conversion or “chlorine burn,” the City of Victoria Public Works combats nitrification by following a nitrification action plan (NAP) to assess the level of nitrification in the water system and take appropriate action, such as flushing.

However, an internal investigation found that staff did not enact the appropriate provisions of the NAP in a timely manner due to poor internal communication; a lack of concrete standard operating procedures; and reduced staffing, which limited staff’s ability to keep up with proactively flushing the nearly 200 flushing sites throughout Victoria. 

Other factors such as weather, reduced consumption and older infrastructure can also play a role in nitrification. However, the water system review subcommittee determined that regardless of these factors, timely enactment of the NAP and flushing upkeep would have prevented the first boil-water notice.

Second boil-water notice (Aug. 6-8)

The second boil-water notice was triggered due to low chlorine levels near Holt Road, an area that is naturally susceptible to lower chlorine levels due to its position at the edge of the City’s water system and due to low consumption. The City was in a state of chlorine conversion at the time; however, this system-wide process takes one month, and the edges of the system are the last to experience the full effects.

On Aug. 6, Public Works staff conducted comprehensive flushing in the area of Holt Road to help the chlorine conversion reach the edges of the system. 

Crews were able to correct the chlorine levels the same day the low chlorine residual was identified, well within the 24-hour grace period that the TCEQ normally gives in such cases, as they did during the first boil-water notice. (A short-term drop in chlorine does not immediately lead to a risk of contamination, due to the amount of time it takes for bacteria to grow.)

In spite of the quick resolution, the TCEQ denied the City’s request for a 24-hour grace period and required the City to issue a boil-water notice. This meant that the City was required to wait for TCEQ confirmation via their own chlorine tests and a bacteriological test, which takes 24 hours to complete, before lifting the boil-water notice.

The water system review subcommittee determined that in spite of the TCEQ’s denial of any grace period, the boil-water notice might have been preventable if crews had conducted a more thorough response earlier in the day. Staffing shortages and communication lapses between shifts played a role in the response and potentially contributed to the second boil-water notice. 

What are we doing to fix it?

The water system review subcommittee has already developed several targeted recommendations for our water system, some of which the City has already begun implementing.

People: Public Works is increasing daily oversight and management through greater on-site involvement of Public Works leadership. The City is also contracting with Texas Utilities & Environmental to provide additional management services while the City works to correct staffing shortages. 

Going forward, Public Works will also improve cross-training of staff to ensure that the water system operates at optimal staffing levels. 

Process: The City is working with the TCEQ to provide staff with training on relevant topics such as nitrification and standard operating procedures. The City also began to implement more robust testing of chlorine levels and nitrites following the first boil-water notice.

Technology: The City has switched to electronic logging of test results to ensure that results are immediately visible to Surface Water Treatment Plant and Public Works leadership. The City will continue to pursue software upgrades with the goal of automatically alerting designated personnel of potential issues.

The subcommittee has also identified areas of the City’s water system that could benefit from in-tank water mixers, which help to maintain water flow during periods of low consumption, and automated flushers, which reduce dependency on staff to conduct flushing. 

What’s next

The water system review subcommittee will continue collaborating with staff to recommend improvements for our water system. Once the subcommittee’s work is complete, a comprehensive written report will be provided to the public.

“I want to assure the citizens of Victoria that we will get this right, and we will do it the right way,” Mayor Crocker said. 

To learn more about the recent boil-water notices and the water system review subcommittee, visit www.victoriatx.gov/water.