February 2015
Fix a Leak Week / Got Old Meds?
Pipeline Will Deliver
Water Management Flexibility
For the last 10 years, Twin Oaks Aquifer Storage and Recovery facility has functioned like a one-way street — utilizing a
single pipeline to either inject or recover water from the massive underground storage site in far southern Bexar County.
But the construction of a new 28-mile pipeline will change
that, making the ASR a two-way site that allows water to be
produced at the same time it is being stored or recovered.
“The major benefit is the flexibility it will provide SAWS in
utilizing our new and existing water resources — including
desalinated groundwater, Carrizo Aquifer water and stored
Edwards water — further minimizing the impact to the Edwards Aquifer,” said Sean Reich, project engineer.
vey water from the new pump station at Twin Oaks West to
the new pump station at the Old Pearsall Road facility. Phase
1 construction is expected to be complete by spring 2016.
Phase 2 construction, tentatively scheduled to begin in late
2019, will include upgrades to two pump stations, as well as
17 additional miles of pipeline connecting to the Anderson
pump station at Loop 1604 and Texas 151 in northwest
San Antonio.
The pipeline, along with two new pump stations, comprises
Phase 1 of a two-phase project under the Water Resource
Integration Program.
The route of the pipeline across the south and west portions
of the city will offer further flexibility in directing the utility’s
diverse water supplies to where they are needed most.
The project includes tunneling up to 100 feet deep to route
the pipe underneath the Medina River and Medio Creek.
The SAWS Board approved contracts at its Dec. 2 Board
meeting to begin construction of the pipeline that will con-
Spring’s a Bloomin’
Come on down to SAWS
Headquarters Saturday, March 14 for
our annual Spring Bloom event.
a marathon of how-to gardening
videos tailored to San Antonio’s
unique climate.
Join us from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at SAWS
Headquarters, 2800 U.S. Hwy. 281
North. SAWS and other participants
will offer great tips to help spruce up
your yard while still saving water. Plus
your favorite local gardening and
landscape experts will be speaking
throughout the day.
In the children’s area, kids will be
able to make bird feeders using
recycled materials.
This year’s event also marks the
premiere of Garden Style Cinema,
Join the MySAWS conversation:
And as always, the first 1,000 visitors
get a free plant! This year’s options
include: Crete oregano, rosemary
and esperanza.
Local food truck vendors will also be
selling tasty treats.
Don’t forget:
City Manager’s 5K Run/Walk is Feb. 28
Proactive Sewer Rehab Program Gets Great Results
In 2014, SAWS crews and contractors cleaned
more than 1,800 miles of pipe across the city,
reducing the number of sewer spills by almost
half since 2012.
As part of the 2013 settlement with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, SAWS crews
have accelerated their work televising, cleaning
and repairing sewers across San Antonio.
Line cleaning crews use remote-controlled
robots to pressure wash each section of sewer
main. This ensures debris, grease and roots are
proactively cleared on a regular basis, reducing
the number of emergency responses.
When an overflow is caused by a structural
failure, a point repair crew is dispatched to fix
the problem to avoid a repeat overflow. These
crews sometimes replace an entire section of
sewer main, manhole to manhole, such as
when the crown of the pipe has caved in.
In addition, SmartCovers, remote alarm systems
which are installed on select manholes, helped
prevent 500 potential spills in 2014.
On average, leaks account for
11,000 gallons of water wasted
per household every year.
That’s enough to fill a backyard
swimming pool! Common
types of leaks found inside
and outside the home include
leaking toilet flappers, dripping
faucets or showerheads, faulty
outdoor spigots and broken
sprinkler heads.
Fix a Leak Week, part of the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s WaterSense program,
encourages you to be proactive
and check your plumbing
fixtures and irrigation systems
for leaks.
For more information, visit
www.epa.gov/watersense.
Got Old Meds?
Give your medicine cabinets a
good cleaning — get rid of all
those expired medications.
The next MedDropSA
collection event is scheduled for
Saturday, Feb. 28, from 8 a.m.
to 1 p.m. at St. Margaret Mary
Catholic Church, 1314 Fair Ave.
hazardous waste items to the
City of San Antonio’s mobile
collection event. Please empty
pill bottles into a zipper storage
bag and remove labels from
bottles of liquids and inhalers.
For more information, visit
www.MedDropSA.com.
Bring any unwanted medicines
along with other household
March 9-12
San Antonio
Botanical Garden
555 Funston
sabot.org
Downtown Siphon
Project Planned
SAWS is preparing to begin a
major televising and cleaning effort
downtown, focused on older, highrisk sewers and siphons, which move
sewage deep underneath storm
sewers, drainage ditches and even
the San Antonio River.
The work is being timed to minimize
any effects to downtown businesses.
Contractor crews will work day and
night to finish during February and
early March, the city’s lowest tourism
period. But there will be some
unavoidable traffic disruption.
The downtown sewer cleaning
project will include three work
locations:
• Navarro Siphon (River Walk next to
Nix Hospital).
• Lexington Siphon (near Tobin Ctr.).
• Cesar Chavez Siphon (next to the
Federal Building).
SAWS CUSTOMER SERVICE or 24-HOUR EMERGENCY
704-SAWS (7297)
Feb. 28
SeaWorld San Antonio
10500 SeaWorld Dr.
bit.ly/CityManager5k
Spring Plant Sale
Televising crews use robotic cameras to inspect
pipes so problems can be corrected before a
spill occurs. While grease continues to be a
major source of back-ups, statistics show that
wipes and structural failures are actually larger
problems.
Fix a Leak Week is March 16–22
City Manager’s 5K
Run/Walk
St. Patrick’s Day
Parade & Festival
March 14-15
River Walk and La Villita
418 Villita St.
thesanantonioriverwalk.com/
events
Advanced Birding
Techniques
March 21
Mitchell Lake
Audubon Center
10750 Pleasanton Rd.
mitchelllake.audubon.org
PAST EDITIONS
www.saws.org/waternews