In a groundbreaking move for water rights, the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has gained official ownership over billions of gallons of its treated wastewater, a decision made by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). This allows the local utility to retain the rights to the water they discharge into the San Antonio River, as reported by the San Antonio Report.
Claiming victory after a decade-long battle, SAWS is now permitted to keep the rights to the discharged water, without any conditions despite the Texas state judges' recommendation for stipulations to protect downstream interests back in December, this is a first-of-its-kind ruling due to the sheer volume of water involved, it’s a shift in a long-standing water landscape where historically this water reverted to state control once it left SAWS' pipelines.
SAWS has big plans for the reclaimed resource: they intend to protect at least 50,000 acre-feet annually for ecological sustenance of ecosystems such as the San Antonio Bay and nearby estuaries and divert another 50,000 acre-feet for energy production at CPS Energy power plants with an additional 25,000 acre-feet to support its recycled water system, said Donovan Burton, the water utility’s vice president of water resources and governmental relations in an interview with the San Antonio Report.
The TCEQ's decision comes after a long process started by SAWS in 2013 for a permit that would grant them up to 260,991 acre-feet of the treated wastewater annually, with the groundwork laid by SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente years earlier as a legislator this ruling marks the conclusion of a journey that began with the revision of water laws including regional planning and environmental flow standards set out in the late '90s.
However, the ruling was met with disappointment by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA), which manages water through the Guadalupe Basin, its legal counsel Samia Broadaway labelling the decision as a disregard for evidence and existing laws that could affect over 350,000 Texans reliant on the GBRA's services; Broadaway even suggesting the ruling "rewrites Texas law," which could have wider implications beyond the Guadalupe-San Antonio Basin, according to statements obtained by the San Antonio Report.
The fallout from this historic ruling is still unfolding, with SAWS looking at potentially months more of legal procedures before the permit becomes final, while opponents like the GBRA weigh their options for judicial recourse.
