The San Antonio Water System plans to ask for a rate increase next year to help fund $3.2 billion in system improvements by 2030.<\/p>\n
San Antonio City Council members weighed in at a Wednesday meeting, discussing how rates would affect low-income customers and the public utility\u2019s recent work to reduce leakages and improve responsiveness.<\/p>\n
SAWS is asking for its first rate increase since 2020 to improve its water treatment facilities. The utility wants to put $1.7 billion into its wastewater system and $1.1 billion into its water system by 2030. Another $318 million would be invested into building out its water supply.<\/p>\n
The rate increase would not be part of a SAWS budget that will be presented to city council members in November. SAWS wanted to delay its rate increase to let San Antonio\u2019s new City Council focus on the city budget.<\/p>\n
Both city-owned utilities have taken steps to avoid contentious rate-hike votes leading up to a city election year \u2014 meaning the timing is now ripe, when members aren\u2019t on the ballot again until 2029.<\/p>\n
Gavino Ramos, the utility\u2019s senior vice president of communication, said SAWS was completing a study on its rates and needs to figure out how much more to charge its customers. The utility serves 511,300 water customers and 457,600 wastewater customers across Bexar, Medina and Atascosa counties, according to its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n SAWS is scheduled to present an interim budget by the end of 2025, which will include public hearings on Oct. 7 and Nov. 4. Then, SAWS plans to conduct public outreach with neighborhood groups across the city before formally asking city council members to approve higher rates in January or February.\u00a0<\/p>\n If approved, Ramos said, the rate increase could be in place within the first three months of 2026. That\u2019s a rough estimate, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very fluid,\u201d Ramos said.<\/p>\n In a presentation to city council members, SAWS chief financial officer Doug Evanson said the most expensive improvements planned were $828 million for treatment facilities, including the city\u2019s three water recycling plants, and $608 million for replacing sewer mains. Another $460 million would be allocated to water main replacements.<\/p>\n SAWS officials are focused on treatment facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s driving our rate increase for this coming year are our wastewater treatment plants,\u201d said SAWS President Robert Puente. \u201cWe have to make major upgrades.\u201d<\/p>\n SAWS\u2019s plan would see the utility spending more than $600 million a year between 2026 and 2030 <\/strong>on various improvements. Around $327 million of improvements originally scheduled for 2026 would be pushed back to later years due to the interim budget process.<\/p>\n Evanson said the utility\u2019s goal, particularly with improvements to treatment facilities, was to avoid expensive problems down the road and extra regulation.<\/p>\n \u201cFailure to make improvements could result in permanent violations and could trigger additional environmental oversight,\u201d Evanson said.<\/p>\n SAWS also needed higher rates to maintain its low interest rates when it borrows money, Evanson added. To maintain a high bond rating, he said, SAWS needs to adjust rates.<\/p>\n Council members were concerned about how rates would affect residents and wanted to see where SAWS would focus on improvements. Several council members asked for more data about where aging infrastructure is located and where SAWS would focus its efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) added that it was hard to talk to residents about rate increases or water conservation efforts when those same residents noticed major leaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s embarrassing to lose that much of your inventory,\u201d Puente responded. \u201cWe\u2019re addressing it and those numbers are going down.\u201d<\/p>\n