Brentwood Common H.O.A.

Historic Water Plan Approved by City Council

Dec 29, 1998

After many hours of community input and revision, City Council approved a citizen-driven, 50-year water plan for San Antonio.
Nearly three years ago San Antonio citizens and the City Council recognized the need to earnestly begin the long journey of securing our water future.
?“This is truly a giant step for San Antonio," said SAWS Board Chairman Juan Patlan. ?“The community has been working on this plan for nearly three years. I have firmly maintained that citizens will make good decisions if they are well informed and have a meaningful part in the planning process. As a result of our extensive public involvement at the outset of this effort, people now understand we have limits on how much water we can withdraw from the Edwards Aquifer. With that fact facing us, our community now sees the need of moving forward on a long-term water plan that is essential to our City?’s future.?”
Early on, the SAWS Board of' Trustees committed to involving citizens in this all-important water planning process. "Securing Our Water Future Together'' actually resulted from the efforts of three committees made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds and interests - the Citizens Committee on Water Policy, the Citizens Working Group and the Citizens Advisory Panel. SAWS also delivered the plan's details to numerous civic groups, neighborhood associations and neighborhood leaders groups hosted by City Council members.
A town hall meeting and workshops were held in each quadrant of the city to answer questions and gather input on the plan. In addition, SAWS and Paragon Cable produced an electronic town hall meeting to give the citizens another opportunity to get up to speed on the water resources plan from their living rooms.
The final draft of the plan included many suggestions obtained from citizens throughout the public involvement process. Due to their feedback, SAWS reevaluated and updated water demand projections and rewrote in more depth sections on aquifer optimization, recharge enhancement and the anticipated rate impacts in the near-term as well as the long-term. This mountain of' citizen input helped shape the final plan approved by the City Council on November 5.
Currently, SAWS customers use about l 70,000 - 180,000-acre feet of water each year (55-58 billion gallons). It is anticipated that SAWS will need 390,000-acre feet (127 billion gallons) by 2050 to satisfy yearly demands. The long-term plan recommends a dual track to follow in acquiring those large amounts of water. On one path, the region should continue to study how SAWS might be able to safely get more water from the Edwards Aquifer. The second parallel approach will be to look k for other available water supplies.
"The draft water resources plan does not provide suggestions for specific projects but rather a range of potential solutions to meet water demands which will gradually increase each decade," said SAWS President/CEO Mike Thuss.

Recommendations for the Plan Include:

?• Maintain aggressive water quality programs and enforce water quality ordinances
?• Continue aquifer optimization studies
?• Expand the water conservation plan over 50 year period
?• Complete the water recycling project
?• Complete the Canyon Lake project
?• Solidify SAWS' EAA permit
?• Acquire limited Edwards' water rights
?• Study and pursue non-Edwards' ground water
?• Study and pursue other existing surface water in region
?• Support and participate in State's regional planning process (SB1)
?• Commit to planning with the region for new surface water supplies
?• Study and pursue other water storage opportunities such as Aquifer Storage and Recovery
?• Maintain lifeline rates for low water users
?• Pursue federal grants, low interest loans
?• Develop regional partners to share costs
?• Consider recreation fees, impact fees for new water supplies
?• Continue operational cost reduction reviews

For more information or a copy of the plan, contact Water Resources, 704-7379