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President's Report

David E. Chardavoyne President/CEO

This past year was a turning point for SAWS. Focused on the vision of our Board of Trustees, the employees of this organization concentrated on the basics of running a high-performance business. Led by an Executive Management Team of exemplary talent, SAWS has just completed the most successful year in its history.

Significant savings through budget reductions, a system reorganization, and business process revisions yielded tangible results for our customers, and helped place SAWS on the path to long-term success. Some of the highlights of our year include:

• A more cost-effective Water Resource Plan Update 2005 was produced by a Task Force of SAWS leaders and approved by our Board. This critical update placed the future supply of water for our growing community on secure footing.
  
• A system reorganization improved efficiency and service. SAWS employees held the line on expenses despite higher than expected costs for fuel and utilities. Impressively, they also managed a seamless move to a new headquarters that was under budget and ahead of schedule.
  
• A prioritization of our capital improvement projects, and a designed shift in the way we manage our debt, have minimized the costly burden of future interest expense.
  
• Most important, excellent financial results have allowed us to say that our customers can look forward to rate stability, with no rate increase for 2007.

While I am proud of these outstanding results, we know we must redouble our efforts to remain focused on future performance. We intend to leverage our 2005 financial results to meet the growing demands of our community. Together with value engineering, and exciting endeavors like desalination, additional efficiencies are well within our sights.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the outstanding talents of our employees and leadership team. The call to bring focus to an organization with unrealized potential was answered by our people. As our community grows and we add thousands of new customers, our people are working smarter and operating with improved efficiency. Because of their hard work, we are well prepared to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

While we look to the future, we will not forget our past successes. Our commitment to high-quality water will remain as important as the need for infrastructure maintenance and replacement. And, our commitment to our customers will remain our top priority.

My first year in the San Antonio community has been one of the most rewarding in my professional career. SAWS is truly positioned for excellence, and as we move into 2006 our sights are focused on the value we bring to our customers through reliable services, an ample supply of high-quality water, and, equally important, rate stability for our future.

David E. Chardavoyne
President/CEO
San Antonio Water System

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