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Click on a year for chronological information on San Antonio's water history.
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San Antonio has always relied upon the Edwards Aquifer for its water supply.
The Edwards feeds the San Pedro and San Antonio springs which,
until the middle of the 20th Century, provided the base flow for
the San Pedro Creek and the San Antonio River. The springs were
the site of Indian encampments centuries ago and were the reason
that the Spanish established San Antonio in 1718.
The primary water distribution system in the area was the acequĦas,
or community water ditches. The first ditch, Pajalache or Concepcion
Ditch, became operational about 1720. The acequias were supplemented
by shallow wells and provided water for both irrigation and consumption.
These ditches also began to serve as a de facto sewer system.
Early San Antonians merely deposited their garbage and other wastes
into the ditches where they were carried downstream.
In 1836, the San Pedro Ditch was reserved for drinking and cooking
water only; penalties were established for using it for bathing
or as a sewer. Although crude, this water and wastewater operation
served the City's needs until 1866 when a severe cholera epidemic
prompted real efforts to establish a satisfactory water supply
system.
Many water development proposals were discussed and subsequently
discarded over the years until the City finally entered into a
water supply contract with J.B. LaCoste and Associates on April
3, 1877. LaCoste constructed a pumphouse near the headwaters of
the San Antonio River in what is now Brackenridge Park. Water
pressure operated a pump which lifted water to a reservoir near
the old Austin highway on the present site of the Botanical
Gardens. This site was high enough for the water to flow by
gravity into the distribution system.
In 1883 a new company, led by George W. Brackenridge, acquired
the water system. Recognizing that the source of the springs was
possibly a subterranean reservoir under high pressure,
Brackenridge proposed that his firm purchase property along the
river and drill a well. In 1889, the first artesian well was bored in what later
became Brackenridge Park. Two years later an eight-inch discovery
well was drilled to a depth of 890 feet at Market Street and the
San Antonio River. By 1900, all of the system's water was
obtained from artesian wells linked directly to the distribution
system.
In 1905, George Brackenridge sold his interests in the water
company to George Kobusch of St. Louis. At that time the name
was changed to the San Antonio Water Supply Company. Shortly
thereafter, Mr. Kobusch sold the business to a Belgian
syndicate. While it was under foreign ownership, the water
company was known as "Compagnie des Eaux de San Antonio" and was
managed by the Mississippi Valley Trust Company of St. Louis,
Missouri.
Partly to recover some of their financial losses from World War I,
the Belgians sold the waterworks to a group of local investors in
1920. Contract and rate disagreements marred the relationship
between the City and the new water entity. In 1924, the company
demanded a rate increase, and since an agreement could not be
reached, the new rates were put into effect and the City was
enjoined from interfering. This situation prompted the City to
issue seven million dollars in revenue bonds and purchase the
system outright. On June 1, 1925, the utility became known as the
City Water Board (CWB) and its management was placed under a Board
of Trustees appointed by the City Council. At the time of
purchase, the company was pumping an average of 25 million gallons
daily to serve some 38,000 customers.
While struggling to develop an adequate potable water supply
system, the City also attempted to address sanitary sewer needs.
Mayor Bryan Callaghan II advocated an organized sewage system in
1890, but one was not authorized until 1894. By 1900, the system
was fully operational. The original sewage collection effort
divided the City into four districts and several subdistricts. A
brick outfall main of 36" to 48" carried the flows to a sewage farm
near the current site of Stinson Field. In 1897, San Antonio had
contracted with a private firm to handle the irrigation and land
disposal of the sewage. When downstream irrigators became irate
over the increased sewage load in the river, San Antonio
contracted with another private corporation for additional sewage
disposal. The 1901 contract with the San Antonio Irrigation Company
granted exclusive use for irrigation of all sewage present and
future, except for those quantities already contracted for by the
City of San Antonio. To contain any surplus, a dam was constructed
at the south end of Mitchell Lake.
The same year the City Water Board was established, the City of San
Antonio began preparations for the construction of the Rilling Road
sewage treatment plant. In 1930, that facility began operation
with a capacity of 25 million gallons per day (MGD). The plan used
an activated sludge treatment method and its treated effluent was
routed by gravity to Mitchell Lake. Flows into Mitchell Lake
quickly reached capacity, especially during days of heavy rainfall.
Once the lake capacity was met, releases were made into the Medina
River above its confluence with the San Antonio River. Due to
complaints by downstream concerns the City took over operation and
maintenance of Mitchell Lake. Modifications were made to the
Rilling Road Treatment Plant in 1936, 1956, 1958, 1962 and 1966 to
raise the facilities capacity to 105 MGD by the end of 1966.
During the Depression and the war years the City Water Board was
able to keep pace with increasing demand without much difficulty.
However, the post-war building boom and the impact of the 1950's
drought significantly taxed the Board's capabilities. In the mid
1950's the water operation utilized many widely scattered secondary
pumping stations which were designed to serve immediately adjacent
neighborhoods. These stations essentially operated independently
and did not provide adequate system redundancy. Almost all the CWB
pumps were set at elevations which corresponded to 623 feet mean
sea level (msl) at the Beverly Lodges monitor well. In August 1956,
the monitor well level dropped to 612 feet msl. The City Water
Board had started an intensive process of lowering pumps, but the
utility still strained to meet citizens' demand.
The Board of Trustees had authorized a contract with Black and
Veatch Consulting Engineers to evaluate the water system and
develop a master plan for improvements in 1954. Black and Veatch
offered a series of recommendations which involved massive
improvements to the Board's operations. The original bond
indenture provided that no additional bonds could be issued until
all of the 1925 bonds had been retired. Since some of the
outstanding bonds had a 1965 maturity date, no funds other than
revenues were available for capital improvements financing. In
order to modernize the water utility, a $21 million bond issue was
approved by an election on June 22, 1956.
During the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's both the water and wastewater
systems continued to expand as customer demand increased. In 1965,
the City built the Leon Creek Treatment Plant in order to ease the
burden on Rilling Road. This facility had an initial capacity of 12
MGD and was later upgraded to a permitted capacity of 35 MGD. In
1970, the City added the Salado Creek Plant with an initial
capacity of 24 MGD, and subsequently upgraded it to 36 MGD.
Throughout much of this period, the City Water Board was involved
in negotiations or court actions involving attempts to secure a
supplemental water supply. In 1979, a committee established by the
City Planning Commission reported to the City Council that San
Antonio should pursue the necessary federal and state permits to
construct San Antonio's first surface water supply project known as
the Applewhite Reservoir. Shortly thereafter, the Council passed
a resolution directing the Water Board to initiate the permitting
process. The Water Board received the state permit from the Texas
Water Commission in 1982, and the 404 Permit from the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers on August 28, 1989. Construction on the Lake
began a few months later.
On May 4, 1991, the citizens of San Antonio, by a narrow margin,
voted to discontinue the Applewhite Project. In the following
months the Board of Trustees of the City Water Board voted to sue
the City over the legality of the election. Court action
subsequently upheld the City's position and Applewhite construction
was halted.
While water issues garnered the most attention, wastewater
continued to be a demanding subject. During the 1970's and 1980's
the 208 Wastewater Policy Advisory Committee worked diligently to
address the area's needs. A significant result of that effort was
the City's decision to construct the Dos Rios Wastewater Treatment
Plant and to abandon the problem-plagued Rilling Road facility.
Dos Rios opened in 1987 at a capacity of 83 MGD. The City also
purchased the Medio Creek Plant from Lackland Water Company in
1991. This plant was built in the early 1970's, with an initial
capacity of 5.5 mgd and has since been expanded to 6.5 mgd. This
acquisition allowed the City to provide service to the rapidly
growing northwest portion of Bexar County. No longer used for
treatment, Mitchell Lake has been declared a bird refuge, and the
City of San Antonio has assisted in the planning and the
implementation of many ecologically sound and aesthetically
pleasing improvements to the lake and surrounding properties.
In 1989 the City of San Antonio asked the State Legislature to pass
a bill which would permit the creation of a district devoted to
reuse of the municipality's effluent. Senate Bill 1667, which
established the Alamo Water Conservation and Reuse District, was
signed by the Governor on June 16, 1989. In 1991, the District
applied for a permit to divert water from the Leon Creek Plant for
reuse purposes. The City Water Board opposed that action due to
its possible impact on the Applewhite permit.
The controversy brought on by competing water agencies prompted the
City Council to vote in December, 1991 to establish a single
utility responsible for water, wastewater, stormwater, and reuse.
The refinancing of $635 million in water and wastewater bonds made
the merger possible. A new entity, The San Antonio Water System
(SAWS), became a reality on May 19, 1992.
SAWS was created through the consolidation
of three predecessor agencies: the City Water Board (the previous city-owned
water supply utility); the City Wastewater Department (a department of
the city government responsible for sewage collection and treatment);
and the Alamo Water Conservation and Reuse District (an independent city
agency created to develop a system for reuse of the city's treated wastewater).
SAWS also owns and operates as a separate utility the former City Water
Board's chilled water and steam plant, which is a centralized heating
and cooling system for the buildings in and around HemisFair Park.
In the consolidation of the previous agencies, SAWS was also assigned
the responsibility for complying with federal permit requirements for
treatment of the city's stormwater runoff. In addition, the water resources
planning staff of the City Planning Department was realigned to the new
agency, to give it a complete package of related functions.
An important
component of SAWS' planning role is the responsibility to protect the
purity of the city's water supply from the Edwards Aquifer, including
enforcing certain city ordinances related to subdivision development.
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