As San Antonio braces for a sizzling summer, the city's water system is gearing up for a surge in water main breaks, following last year's unprecedented heat and infrastructure failures. The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) reported a staggering 7,400 leaks in 2023, marking a record-breaking year for a city accustomed to intense summers, with a notable increase from the 6,400 leaks in 2022, and significantly up from the 4,800 in 2021, as San Antonio Report revealed.
Last year’s heatwave brought a scorching 75 triple-digit temperature days to San Antonio, making it the hottest year on record since the late 1800s. SAWS, the municipal utility delivering the city's water supply, is now preparing for "the same or more" water main breaks this season, with a notorious majority within Loop 410, where older pipes lie vulnerable amidst contracting soils. Carlos Mendoza, SAWS vice president of distribution and collection operations, expressed the need for swift responses to these breaks. "What we're doing to prepare for that — we're here doing a better job cutting down our response time to make sure that we get to these leaks faster," Mendoza informed the local outlet.
The city's infrastructure woes primarily involve outdated piping, some dating back 50 to 60 years, nearing the end of its functional lifespan. Mendoza mentioned that the intersections around U.S. Highway 281 and Loop 410 are particularly troublesome due to their black clay soil composition. To battle the seasonal challenge, Gilbert Santos, a SAWS operations manager, noted the adoption of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes in new installations, which are less prone to breakage from soil shifts.
Patrick Shriver, a SAWS manager in water resources, underscores the seasonal nature of the issue, referring to "main break season," when SAWS crews face the bulk of their work, typically July through September. "When main break season happens, that mostly happens in areas where there's clay soil — and movement in the drying out or shrinking and contracting of soil wreaks havoc on those joints," Shriver explained. Last year, SAWS increased their leak response team by 50 to keep up with the demand and they are now looking to expand even further owing to the additional requirements expected this summer.
Financially, SAWS managed to cover the costs of additional staffing within their approved budget for the past year, but Mendoza foresees a future need for an increased budget. In his words, "We're just assessing that now." Despite this proactive tactic, the city still faces the challenge of "non-revenue water," a term used by SAWS to describe the loss of water due to leaks, which remains a significant concern given the looming drought and escalating summertime strain on San Antonio's water infrastructure.
