Dedicated to Environmental Excellence

SAWS is heavily involved in preserving greenspace within the San Antonio metropolitan area, especially in monitoring and preserving land over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. In the last year there were several significant milestones in these land preservation efforts. In 2002, San Antonio completed an economic development effort to bring a major Professional Golf Association resort and golf training academy to the city. With that development designed to occur over San Antonio’s sensitive Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, city leaders turned to SAWS to develop an environmental plan for the PGA resort. The result was one of the most comprehensive environmental monitoring plans of its kind ever produced in the U.S. Though stringent in application, the developer agreed that it as very workable, thus giving city leaders and the community an excellent comfort level that water quality for San Antonio will not be affected by this development.

In August, SAWS took advantage of a unique opportunity to both preserve greenspace in the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, and to preserve a unique natural wildlife area. SAWS Board members approved purchasing a conservation easement of about 640 acres around the Bracken Bat Cave just north of San Antonio in Comal County. The easement will buffer the cave from any future development on the property. The cave is known as the world’s largest maternal colony of an estimated 40 million Mexican free-tailed bats. The easement was developed in conjunction with the Edwards Aquifer Authority, Nature Conservancy of Texas, Bat Conservation International (BCI), and property owners. In November, SAWS Board approved plans transferring 400 acres of property to the Land Heritage Institute Foundation. SAWS acquired the land in 1990 for the Applewhite Reservoir Project that was proposed but not built. The property will serve as both an educational and a recreational site, preserving the rich traditions of Native American, Hispanic, African-American, Anglo, and other settlers of the San Antonio region. It will be utilized as a major archeological, historical, and anthropological park and educational center.