Frio County approves waterline permit subject to boring requirement to protect new roads

Frio County's Road & Bridge administrator presented a permit request from New Water Systems to construct and maintain a 2-inch waterline on the west side of County Road 3416 and to cross under County Road 3428. Commissioners discussed whether the line should be installed by boring (preferred) or open trenching (cheaper but damaging to newer roads). Several commissioners expressed concern that trenching would create permanent visible and functional damage to recently completed road surfaces.

Commissioner Carrizales moved and the court seconded a motion to approve the permit contingent on changing the permit language to require boring rather than trenching for the crossing; the motion passed. Road & Bridge staff said they would communicate the requirement to applicants and secretaries preparing future permit language.

The court noted that if an engineer approved an open-cut method the county could still review the installation method, but commissioners chose to make the motion contingent on the required wording change to protect new county roads.