Despite the rain San Antonio received over the weekend, the Edwards Aquifer Authority declared Stage 4 water restrictions Monday, reducing by 40% the allowed amount of pumping out of the aquifer by permit holders such as the San Antonio Water System.
SAWS customers, however, will remain under Stage 2 watering rules, the municipal water utility said Monday. SAWS has never entered Stage 3 watering restrictions, even during the 2011 drought.
Because SAWS has diversified San Antonio’s water supplies, the Edwards Aquifer now accounts for just about half the water SAWS provides, said the utility’s President and CEO Robert Puente. This means even when the Edwards aquifer’s level falls during periods of drought, the impact isn’t felt as directly by SAWS customers. The utility’s other water supplies include the Vista Ridge Project, stored water and recycled water.
“Our community is experienced in managing the effects of drought because of strategies that we’ve initiated over the past 15 years,” Puente said. “… We can manage this again together if everyone complies to the watering rules.”
SAWS customers have been under Stage 2 watering rules since April 2022. Watering with a sprinkler, irrigation system or soaker hose is allowed only between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. and from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on residents’ designated day, determined by the last number of a customer’s residential address.
SAWS institutes Stage 2 watering restrictions when the Edwards Aquifer’s monitoring well drops below an average of 650 feet above sea level for 10 days or more. As of Monday afternoon, the well was at 628 feet, according to the authority’s webpage.
The Edwards Aquifer Authority’s Stage 4 pumping restrictions are triggered when the 10-day average of the monitoring well, called the J-17, drops below 630 feet.
The authority is a groundwater district spanning seven counties that regulates how much water can be pumped out of the aquifer in order to protect its springs and endangered species. Permit holders, such as SAWS, must reduce their pumping when the authority issues drought restrictions.
According to the city’s Aquifer Management Plan ordinance, coming out of drought stages for SAWS can be considered 15 days after the aquifer is above the trigger level.
SAWS used Monday’s announcement to remind customers that those who don’t comply with Stage 2 watering limits could be subject to a citation with fines of about $150 for first-time offenses.
So far this year, increased patrolling around the clock has resulted in more than 3,000 citations being issued, SAWS stated.
“This year has had a historically low level of rain, as well as historically high temperatures this past summer,” said Karen Guz, SAWS senior director of conservation. “With milder temperatures, it may be tempting to replace grass, but instead consider alternative landscaping that uses less grass and instead go towards low water-use plants. A variance is required to water in new plants during drought stages, which only lasts five weeks.”
