It’s only been a couple of years since SAWS upped its efforts to reduce non-revenue water — water that is produced or received from a given source but never delivered or billed to a customer. And we continue to make great strides.
Our latest achievement is cause for celebration: From 2023 to 2025, SAWS reduced total water loss volume by 26%. That’s 5.4 billion gallons saved!
“The recognition of how far we’ve come in a very short time belongs to every SAWS employee for doing what they do every single day,” said Richard Donat, director-Non-Revenue Water Program.
Among the efforts that have contributed to this success:
- Improving response time by SAWS repair crews to two days or less for all reported breaks and leaks.
- Using predictive data to look for hidden leaks in areas with higher chance of failure.
- Replacing old Edwards Aquifer well meters with meters that more precisely measure the water we pump.
- Scheduling our highest risk pipes for repair or replacement before they can fail.
- Measuring water used for authorized purposes such as main flushing and firefighting.
- Continuing our industry-leading conservation efforts to reduce water demand even more, resulting in less stress on pipes.
- Replacing mechanical customer meters with highly accurate ConnectH2O electronic meters that track hourly water use.
Water loss challenges are not unique to San Antonio. Across the U.S., aging infrastructure is making it harder and costlier than ever to keep pipes, pumps and treatment plants from losing water. That’s why SAWS has been working on this effort for more than a decade.
Ultimately, the goal of the SAWS Non-Revenue Water Program is to reduce water loss per connection per day by 50% by 2035. That’s one reason SAWS plans to invest $3.2 billion in water and sewer system upgrades over the next five years.
You can track our progress using the non-revenue water dashboard at saws.org/dashboard.