SAN ANTONIO, TX — Over the past 10 years, the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has contributed to milestones marking San Antonio’s rise as a national leader in water management.
In 2010, SAWS became the first utility in the nation to capture methane from wastewater treatment to be sold for energy. SAWS reuses all three sewage byproducts: solids for compost, liquids for recycled water and gas for energy.
Through an agreement with Schertz and Seguin, SAWS brought the new Regional Carrizo water supply online in 2013. Leasing unused capacity in the Schertz-Seguin pipeline saved $88 million in infrastructure costs. SAWS also achieved the highest bond rating in the company’s history by reducing costs and increasing efficiency, saving millions annually.
SAWS was also able to negotiate the largest public-private utility partnership in Texas history. In 2020, the Vista Ridge Pipeline will become the company’s biggest non-Edwards Aquifer water supply.
Even with new water on the way, SAWS continues to make the most of existing supplies. The water savings account at the Aquifer Storage and Recovery facility now holds enough to supply all of San Antonio for more than six months, ready to use in times of drought.
San Antonio’s daily water use per capita dropped to an all-time low of 117 gallons in 2016, due to programs like free irrigation check-ups and landscape coupons.
Another new water supply came online in 2017. The company’s brackish desalination plant filters salty groundwater to supply up to 53,000 households each day.
SAWS also negotiated a consent decree in 2017 with the Environmental Protection Agency to repair and improve the sewer system. The agreement likely saved SAWS ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
SAWS’ fiscal responsibility includes keeping services affordable. To that end, the utility’s investment in assistance programs has more than doubled, reaching out to more than 32,000 families in need. In 2019, SAWS increased employee starting salaries to $15.25 per hour, to better recruit and retain a skilled workforce.
The Bexar Metropolitan Water District, a utility the size of Corpus Christi, was also folded into SAWS without any disruption to BexarMet’s 94,000 former customers.
San Antonio Water System Celebrates Decade of Milestones
