We know with certainty that San Antonio’s rapidly growing population will put increasing pressure on the city’s water supply. San Antonio is expected to grow by nearly 30% by 2030, adding more than 600,000 new residents.
We know that climate change is likely to exacerbate water scarcity in Texas in general, and in South Texas in particular. As our population grows, state climatologist and Texas A&M University Professor John Nielsen-Gammon estimates that climate change will reduce the state’s water supply by five to 15% over the next 50 years.
We know that San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is a national leader in water conservation. SAWS’ efforts have reduced per capita water consumption from 225 gallons per day in the mid-1980s to less than 140 gallons today, with a goal of 116 gallons per day.
Finally, we know that because of population growth and climate change, conservation is not enough. In order to ensure an ample water supply for a growing, economically vibrant city, San Antonio must secure sources of water beyond the Edwards Aquifer. In fact, a federal ruling in 1993 restricted withdrawals from the Edwards Aquifer, compelling San Antonio to conserve the water it had while searching for new sources.
SAWS has acted responsibly to meet the need for conservation. After some failed efforts, SAWS has now acted to secure a new water supply. The Vista Ridge Pipeline will, when completed, meet 20% of San Antonio’s water needs. The water will come from the vast, drought-resistant Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Burleson and Milam counties.
How vast? According to the Texas Water Development Board, there is as much as 170 million acre-feet of water in the aquifer in Milam and Burleson counties alone. That’s roughly four times the size of the entire Edwards Aquifer. Yet while Bexar County has 1.8 million residents, Burleson and Milam counties have 41,000 residents combined.
(Read more about it here.)
And how drought resistant? The permits for the Vista Ridge Project from the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District limit production from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer to 50,000 acre-feet of water annually — a minute fraction of the estimated recoverable storage. If SAWS receives 50,000 acre-feet per year for 30 years, there will be less than a 1% drawdown on the aquifer’s total storage.
Finally, under the contract SAWS negotiated, Abengoa Vista Ridge assumes a significant portion of the regulatory, technical and financial risk associated with the project. SAWS and its ratepayers will only pay for water that is delivered or made available under the terms of the contract, and at a guaranteed fixed price for 30 years.
Yet some opponents of the Vista Ridge Project, such as Meredith McGuire, claim that water from the Vista Ridge pipeline will come at the expense of SAWS’ conservation efforts, that the water may not be available if the drought persists, and that the project puts the City of San Antonio at financial risk.
The facts here are clear. San Antonio needs new water sources, in addition to conservation, for the future. SAWS continues to do an exemplary job in the field of conservation, and SAWS has acted wisely to secure a long-term water source under a fixed-price agreement that limits the risk to San Antonio ratepayers.
*Featured/top image: Map of the planned pipeline between Burleson and Bexar Counties. Image courtesy of San Antonio Water System.
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Asking for Less, SAWS Briefs A Receptive City Council on Rate Increase, Major Water Projects
Allowing city wide water capture from rain barrels and home solutions would help provide improved water security, in addition to using permeable pavement solutions that can allow for the absorption of water into the ground, especially in recharge zones.
I notice the article avoids mentioning the price tag which, IIRC is $3.8 billion. This is just another boondoggle like light rail. Only its light rail on steroids. There is no such thing as “drought resistant”. The only time I’ve heard that term is regarding grass or other xeriscape plants. People are idiots if they turn down light rail and think this is ok.
Why not fill those oceanic sized pits North of 1604 @ 281 with water during rainy seasons. Once filled they could be used for recreational activities plus allow gravity to deliver it to the inner city. The last time we had pits like those they were filled and made into Sea World, Fiesta
Texas and La Cantera. Let’s try to be a bit more proactive, not wait for the next drought!
I appreciate any and all coverage and commentary on this issue.
Mike Beldon and the rest of the Chamber of Commerce crowd needs to accept the fact that SAWS has become one of the most progressive water systems in the nation using desalination, aquifer storage and recovery, aggressive rate structure reform and transitioning away from grass to more water conserving native landscapes. So much so that the SAWS staff in late 2014 recommended that we do not need any water pipelines which would have saved SAWS and ratepayers from huge rate increases to pay for the Vista Ridge boondoogle. The C of C needs to follow the SAWS staff original recommendation which includes a major paradigm shift away from designing our outdoor commercial and residential landscapes with typical water guzzling green grass and wasteful sprinkler systems to more water conserving yet beautiful blooming native landscaping that requires much less water, maintenance, pesticides and time. This will allow San Antonio to meet future growth more sustainably and in a smart growth pattern , not unfettered and out of control growth which reduces our livability standards.