San Antonio has been under Stage 2 watering rules for more than two years. Unfortunately, the Edwards Aquifer is not expected to recover this summer. That means even more pumping cutbacks are expected, along with the need to further reduce water demand.
SAWS has never imposed its current Stage 3 rules, which would limit landscape watering to only twice a month. While plants can survive on that amount of water, it is a measure we’d like to avoid.
With that in mind, new Stage 3 rules are being proposed. The revised Stage 3 would continue to allow once-a-week watering on your day, but would add a high use surcharge. It would also take effect automatically when the Edwards Aquifer drops to Stage 3 levels.
For single family accounts, the $10.37 surcharge per thousand gallons would take effect once a 20,000 gallon monthly threshold is met. Customers using less than that (water and sewer bill below $200) – 95% of all residential accounts – would not be affected at all. The threshold for commercial irrigation would vary by meter size.
The surcharge would encourage both residential and commercial customers with very high outdoor use to conserve.
What about that twice-per-month watering rule? That would be pushed to Stage 4, which would be declared only if enough savings cannot be achieved in other ways.