Utilities
| Water |
San Antonio Water SystemSan Antonio Water System (SAWS) is the largest municipally-owned water, wastewater, chilled water, steam, and recycled water utility in Bexar County. SAWS serves approximately 1.3 million customers within the corporate limits of the City and Bexar County. Its total revenues increased from $369.9 million in 2009 to $372.5 million in 2010. The utility's mission is to serve their customers and provide sustainable, affordable water services. San Antonio Water System (SAWS) Mailing Address: Sources of SupplyHistorically, the City obtained nearly all of its water from the Edwards Aquifer. The Edwards Aquifer lies beneath the City of San Antonio with an area approximately 3,600 square miles in size. Including its recharge zone, it underlies all or part of 13 counties, varying from five to 30 miles in width, and stretching over 175 miles in length, beginning in Brackettville, Kinney County, Texas in the west and stretching to Kyle, Hays County, Texas in the east. The Edwards Aquifer receives most of its water from rainfall, rivers, and streams flowing across 4,400 square miles of drainage basins located above it. The quality of the water surpasses all federal drinking water standards and requires only gas chlorination before distribution. In 2002, fluoride began to be added to both SAWS and Bexar Metropolitan Water District's water supply after a city ordinance was passed. In 2009, SAWS updated its Water Management Plan to outline a diversified foundation of San Antonio's water supply for the next 50 years. While the Edwards Aquifer will always be the cornerstone of San Antonio's water supply, SAWS has successfully developed several alternative water sources, such as Canyon Lake, the Trinity Aquifer, and the Carrizo Aquifer. The recycled water program provides highly treated wastewater to CPS Energy and other industrial, commercial and irrigation customers who would otherwise use potable water. The underground Aquifer Storage and Recovery reservoir allows SAWS to capture and store unused permitted Edwards Aquifer water when available and use it in times of drought. The 2009 Water Management Plan Update also calls for additional projects to supplement the Edwards Aquifer, including the development of a brackish groundwater desalination project in southeast Bexar County. Another key project is the Regional Carrizo Program, a regional partnership with Schertz-Seguin Local Government Corporation (SSLGC) that will supply SAWS with groundwater from the Carrizo Aquifer in Gonzales County and provide surplus water from the SSLGC system. Conservation ProgramAs a result of a nationally recognized conservation program, SAWS is using the same amount of water today as it did more than two decades ago, despite a population increase of 67%. Given these accomplishments, the 2009 Water Management Plan Update includes goals of 116 gallons per capita per day (gpcd) by 2016, with 126 gpcd in high years and 106 gpcd in low years. SAWS has a unique commercial conservation program as well as a strong residential program, such as direct rebates and services to help customers reduce water use, certification programs for industry, and public education programs for the entire community. Water Recycling ProgramSAWS provides high quality recycled water from its wastewater treatment plants to augment, and in some instances replace, Edwards Aquifer water for industrial, commercial and irrigation use. The water recycling program is designed to provide up to 35,000 acre-feet per year of recycled water. Currently, more than 115 miles of pipeline deliver highly treated effluent to approximately 50 customers consisting of golf courses, parks, and commercial and industrial customers throughout the city. Recycled water is one of the key factors in making more water available for economic growth and development in San Antonio. Water Distribution SystemAs of May 2011, SAWS maintains almost 5,100 miles of distribution mains, ranging in size from four inches to 60 inches in diameter, the majority of which are between six inches and 12 inches in diameter. Fast FactsPumping Capacity Average Pumping Rate Peak Pumping Rate Underground Storage Capacity Reservoir Capacity
Education ProgramSAWS Education offers a variety of ongoing programs and activities to meet the varied needs of San Antonians. The goal is to develop a water-literate society and to inspire future generations of active water stewards. SAWS Education has established its own custom youth education curriculum for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The program is designed to inspire students to take an active interest in water issues. Students discover the science of water right along with their ABCs in elementary school. In middle school and high school, students learn how to apply that instruction through field studies and experiments. Teachers at all grade levels receive comprehensive training and materials from SAWS on various water subjects to use in their classrooms. Community field trips and outreach events extend water education beyond the classroom to adults by providing an in-depth look at SAWS water and wastewater functions. Wastewater SystemThe wastewater system is composed of about 5,150 miles of sewer mains and three major treatment plants: Dos Rios, Leon Creek, and Medio Creek. All three plants are conventional activated sludge facilities. SAWS holds Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) wastewater discharge permits, issued by the TCEQ for 233 MGD daily average flow. Regional SystemSan Antonio operates a regional sewage system serving Bexar County. SAWS provides sewage service to all properties within the city's legal jurisdiction with the Regional Boundaries according to the provisions of Chapters 34 and 35 of the City Code. Impact fees are charged on all newly platted properties serviced by the Regional System. Adequate main and treatment plant capacity is assured to users of the Regional System. PermitsThe San Antonio federally approved Industrial Pretreatment Program requires certain industrial and commercial facilities to have an Industrial Water Permit. Some industries regulated by the San Antonio Water System are required to pretreat their effluent prior to discharge. Capital Improvement ProgramThe Capital Improvement Program ("CIP") is a multi-year plan for implementing projects that support water supply and delivery, wastewater collection and treatment, and heating and cooling needs in the SAWS service area. The CIP is a financial planning and management tool that identifies facility and equipment requirements, and schedules them for funding and implementation. For 2011, water delivery and wastewater infrastructure is funded at $175.64 million, while water supply capital funding totals approximately $78.98 million. Funding for the water delivery and wastewater program is approximately 60 percent repairs and replacements and 40 percent additional capacity to support new growth and development. All potential projects in the CIP go through extensive testing and configuration to ensure that the project will be influential in that certain area. Tests include the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis ("FMEA") methodology and the Monte Carlo Simulations to project the "executable" budget amounts. Other criteria used to prioritize projects included available design capacity, coordination with outside agencies, potential savings to the annual Maintenance and Operations budget, improved customer service, regulatory mandates, criticality, priority in relation to other projects and availability of funds. General Rate SchedulesSan Antonio Water System's rate schedule for water service, water supply, and wastewater rates, effective January 13, 2009, and still applicable in 2011, can be viewed at the following link: http://www.saws.org/latest_news/articles/2009RatesFinalAdvisory.pdf For more information on SAWS, visit www.saws.org
Bexar Metropolitan Water DistrictThe Bexar Metropolitan Water District (BexarMet) was established by the Texas Legislature in 1945 and currently serves approximately 90,000 connections in Atascosa, Bexar, Comal and Medina counties. Mailing address: Source of SupplyBexarMet is unique among water utilities in that the District is comprised of several (21) smaller water systems not interconnected with each other. While approximately 60% of BexarMet customers reside within the San Antonio city limits, BexarMet also serves customers in Somerset, Castle Hills, Hill Country Village, Hollywood Park, Bulverde, and portions of Converse. The District prides itself as being the most diverse water utility in the San Antonio region, drawing water from six different ground and surface water sources. BexarMet draws upon the following water resources:
The majority of treated surface water is derived from BexarMet's Ultrafiltration Membrane Plant and serves its largest service area on the south side of San Antonio and southern Bexar County. This $31 million filtration plant, the first in Bexar County, began operations in December 1999 and now produces 14.5 million gallons of high quality water per day and serves over 33,000 service connections. Feed water for the Ultrafiltration plant is obtained from the Medina River through State-issued permits and from Medina Lake through a contract with its owner, the Bexar-Medina-Atascosa Water Control and Improvement District. Available water supply from the Medina River exceeds 25,000 acre-feet per year. Treated surface water purchased from the Canyon Lake Water Supply Company feeds BexarMet's Bulverde Hills system in southern Comal County, while treated surface water purchased from the Canyon Regional Water Authority treatment plant on Lake Dunlap provides up to 4,000 acre-feet per year to BexarMet's northeast Bexar County customers. Over 30,000 acre-feet of high quality groundwater from the Edwards Aquifer supplies most of BexarMet's 26 public water systems. Lesser amounts of groundwater from the Trinity Glen-Rose and Carrizo-Wilcox aquifers also supply other community systems in BexarMet's service areas. BexarMet also operates one wastewater treatment facility serving approximately 10 sewer connections. Population Served by the DistrictMore than 260,000 persons through more than 89,000 metered service connections in 2008. Water Distribution SystemsBexarMet owns and operates 26 public water systems in Bexar, Atascosa, Medina and Comal Counties. Water is produced by 101 wells tapping the Edwards, Trinity Glen-Rose and Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifers and by Bexar County's first Ultrafiltration Membrane Plant treating water from the Medina River. Treated surface water is also purchased from Canyon Lake through the Canyon Lake Water Supply Corporation and from Lake Dunlap through the Canyon Regional Water Authority. Water is delivered through approximately 1,300 miles of main outfitted with approximately 6,500 fire hydrants. For more information on BexarMet, visit www.BexarMet.org. |