history of the san antonio water system

784 Pages·2006·6.69 MB·English

San Antonio Water System
2011 Stat Book
WATER STATISTICS
Year Ending December 31, 2011

Board of Trustees

Heriberto Guerra, Chairman
Willie A. Mitchell, Vice- Chair
Roberto Anguiano, Secretary
Samuel E. Luna, Assistant Secretary
Elizabeth M. Provencio, Trustee
Louis E. Rowe, Trustee
Mayor Julián Castro, ex Officio

Prepared By:
Infrastructure Planning Department

Samuel Mills, P.E., Director

Program Planning Division

Dwayne Rathburn, Manager
Felipe Martinez, Planner
San Antonio Water System
2800 U.S. Hwy. 281 North
P.O. Box 2449
San Antonio, Texas 78212

[phone]

Executive Management

President/Chief Executive Officer
Robert Puente

Vice President – Chief Operating Officer
Steven Clouse

Chief of Staff
Stephanie Bocanegra

Chief Financial Officer
Doug Evanson, C.P.A.

Vice President – Strategic Resources
Kelley Neumann, P.E.

Vice President – Human Resources
Jerry Bailey, P.H.R.

Vice President – Operations Services
Michael S. Brinkmann

Vice President – Public Affairs
Gregorio Flores III

Vice President – Customer Service
Stacey Isenberg, C.P.A.

Vice President – Distribution & Collection Operations
Valentine Ruiz, Jr., P.E.

Vice President – Legal & General Counsel
Frank Stenger-Castro
DIRECTORS
Director Applications Margarita Hubbard
Director Conservation Karen Guz
Director Customer Service Alan Williams
Director Customer Service Emma Bridges
Director Contracting Phillip Campos
Director Engineering Ashok Kaji
Director Engineering Cindy Kovacic
Director Engineering David Maxwell
Director Engineering Frances Plocek
Director Engineering Jeff Haby
Director Fleet Management David Kilbourne
Director Financial Planning Daniel Crowley
Director Human Resources Neira White
Director Information Services Joseph Samples
Director Infrastructure Planning Samuel Mills
Director Internal Audit Dora Verde
Director Operations Support Tamsen McNarie
Director Production & Treatment Ops. Antonio Alvarez
Director Production & Treatment Ops. Robert Yrle
Director Production & Treatment Ops. Victor Stuckey
Director Purchasing Vick Gorman
Director Resource Protection/Compliance Scott Halty
Director Security Joshua Dean
Director Service Center Daniel Velasquez
Director Service Center Gordon Mahan
Director Service Center Jeffery Andrews
Director Service Center Jeffery Brown
Director Training & Development James Partain
Director Treatment Systems Meg Conner
Director Water Resources Calvin Finch
San Antonio Water System
Organizational Chart
SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM
2011 STATS BOOK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I: THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM

HISTORY AND INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………
SERVICE SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………………………
SYSTEM ACQUISTIONS……………………………………………………………………………...
POPULATION (City & County)……………………………………………………………………….
Population Chart………………………………………………………………………………...
CUSTOMER WATER USE………………..…………………………………………………………..
AREA SERVED………………………………………………………………………………………...
CUSTOMER AND WATER CONSUMPTION DATA….………………………..…………………..
RATE SCHEDULES……………………………………………………………………………………

CHAPTER II: CLIMATOLOGY

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………
TEMPERATURE………………………………………………………………………………………..
Daily……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Monthly………………………………………………………………………………………….
Chart…………………………………………………………………………………………….
HEATING DEGREE DAYS……………………………………………………………………………
COOLING DEGREE DAYS……………………………………………………………………………
PRECIPITATION
Daily……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Monthly………………………………………………………………………………………….
Chart…………………………………………………………………………………………….
RAINFALL RECORDS………………………………………………………………………………...
SNOWFALL…………………………………………………………………………………………….

CHAPTER III: PRODUCTION

PUMPAGE
Annual Pumpage……..……………..…………………………………………………………..
Annual Water Loss…………..………………………………………………………………….
Daily……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Highlights………………………………………………………………………………………..
By Station………………………………………………………………………………………..
Twin Oaks Treatment Plant ……………………………………………………………………
CHILLED WATER PRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………
STEAM PRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………..
PUMP STATION DATA……………………………………………………………………………….
CHAPTER III: PRODUCTION (cont.)

STATION CAPACITIES…….………………………………………………………………………...
CAPACITY SUMMARY………………………………………………………………………………
STORAGES FACILITIES………………………………………………………………………………
HYDRO PNEUMATIC TANKS……………………………………………………………………….
PRODUCTION WELL DATA………………………………………………………………………….

CHAPTER IV: DISTRIBUTION

WATER MAINS………………………………………………………………………………………...
WASTEWATER MAINS……………………………………………………………………………….
WATER MAINS BY AGE……………………………………………………………………………...
WASTEWATER MAINS BY AGE…………………………………………………………………….
METERS………………………………………………………………………………………………...
MAIN BREAK DATA………………………………………………………………………………….
FIRE HYDRANTS……………………………………………………………………………………...
MAPS
Pressure Zones…………………………………………………………………………………..
Water Service Areas……………………………………………………………………………..

CHAPTER V: TREATMENT

STORMWATER………………………………………………………………………………………...
REGULATORY PROGRAMS………………………………………………………………………….
WASTEWATER DISCHARGE PERMITS…………………………………………………………….
TREATMENT PLANT DATA
Dos Rios…………………………………………………………………………………………
Leon Creek…………………………………………………………………………………….
Medio Creek……………………………………………………………………………………
Salado Creek…………………………………………………………………………………..
Southside ISD……………………………………………………………………………………
Northside ISD……………………………………………………………………………………
Culebra…………………………………………………………………………………………..
San Antonio Ranch………………………………………………………………………………
RECYCLED WATER……………..……….…………………………………………………………...

CHAPTER VI: WATER RESOURCES

CONSERVATION SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………….
PROJECTED REGIONAL WATER DEMAND: BY COUNTY………………………………………
PROJECTED REGIONAL WATER DEMAND: BY REGION……………………………………….
RECYCLED WATER SYSTEM……………………………………………………………………….
Customer Usage…………………………………………………………………………………
CHAPTER VI: WATER RESOURCES (cont.)

MAPS
Water Resource Projects………………………………………………………………………...
Recycled Water System…………………………………………………………………………

CHAPTER VII: FINANCIALS

OPERATING EXPENSES……………………………………………………………………………...
OPERATING REVENUE by SOURCE………………………………………………………………..

CHAPTER VIII: EDWARDS AQUIFER

DESCRIPTION………………………………………………………………………………………….
INDEX WELL LEVEL
Daily……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………

RECHARGE/DISCHARGE…………………………………………………………………………….
ANNUAL DISCHARGE
By County………………………………………………………………………………………..
By County and Use………………………………………………………………………………
ANNUAL RECHARGE BY BASIN……………………………………………………………………
MAPS
Edwards Aquifer Region………………………………………………………………………...

APPENDIX

DEFINITIONS…………………………………………………………………………………………
CONVERSION FACTORS……………………………………………………………………………..
MAPS
General Soils…………………………………………………………………………………….

HISTORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM

San Antonio has always relied upon the Edwards Aquifer for its water supply. The Edwards feeds the San
Pedro and San Antonio springs that, 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 acequías, or community water ditches. The first ditch, Pajalache or Concepcíon Ditch, became operational
about 1720. The acequías 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 that 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