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The San Antonio riverwalk uses treated waste water to keep things flowing. In this photo, torchbearer Frederico Ng carries the Olympic Flame along the Riverwalk during the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Torch Relay in San Antonio, Texas.

All About The San Antonio Water System (SAWS)

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Background

The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is a public utility owned by the City of San Antonio. SAWS was created in 1992 through the consolidation of the City Water Board, City Wastewater Department, and Alamo Water Conservation and Reuse District.

The San Antonio Water System now serves over 1.6 million people and has spear-headed water conservation efforts in the region to offset the sixty-seven percent increase in population growth. As a result, San Antonio has witnessed a forty-two percent reduction in per-capita water usage.

In addition to its conservation programs, SAWS has expanded its water resource portfolio by pursuing water recycling, water storage services, and brackish water desalination.

Latest Posts

August 23, 2012
August 9, 2012
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How to Score a Free Toilet in Texas: The Water Rebate Round-Up

Picture taken at the treatment plant of

Photo by ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images At last week’s “Life By the Drop” panel on solutions for solving the water crisis in Texas, not everyone agreed on what the next steps should be. But there was universal acknowledgment that greater conservation efforts were essential for the state’s future. And Texas’ many water utilities aren’t behind the punch. Many have [...]

June 21, 2012

As Edwards Aquifer Drops, San Antonio Faces Severe Water Restrictions

Excessive lawn watering may soon become a thing of the past in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Water levels are falling rapidly in the Edwards Aquifer in San Antonio, the primary source of water for municipal users in the region. In just two weeks, the levels have dropped 5 feet, and are projected to drop further. Victor Murphy, the Climate Program Manager for the National Weather Service Southern Region, says there’s even [...]

June 5, 2012

Edwards Aquifer Authority Manager Placed on Leave

EAA general manager Karl Dreher was let go Tuesday evening.

Karl Dreher, the general manager for the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), has been placed on paid administrative leave. An EAA spokesperson confirmed the news today to StateImpact Texas, which was first reported in the San Antonio Express-News. The Authority manages the groundwater district of the Edwards Aquifer, which includes San Antonio and many of the [...]

May 22, 2012

The Secrets Behind San Antonio’s Water Conservation Success

SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente says San Antonio could be a model for water conservation the rest of the state.

San Antonio is something of a poster-child for smarter water use in Texas. The city has reduced its per-capita water usage by 42 percent over the last few decades, despite one of the fastest-growing populations in the country. At the 2012 Texas Water Summit at the University of Texas at Austin’s Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science Monday, Robert Puente, the President and CEO [...]

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