水是我们从未真正考虑过的自然资源. 然而,, 我们都有责任好好照顾它, 为了确保它的安全性和可持续性.
The San Antonio region has always depended on the 爱德华兹含水层 for its water needs. 爱德华兹, 世界上最丰富的承压含水层之一, 供应圣佩德罗和bt365体育在线备用的泉水, 直到20世纪中叶，它还为圣佩德罗河和bt365体育在线备用河提供了基本流量. 几个世纪前，这些泉水是美洲印第安人的营地所在地，也是西班牙人在1718年建立bt365体育在线备用市的原因.
早期的灌溉渠
The primary water distribution system in the area was the acequías, or irrigation canals. 第一个运河，Pajalache或Concepcíon，大约在1720年开始运营. The acequías were supplemented by shallow wells and provided water for both irrigation and consumption. 这些运河也开始充当事实上的下水道系统. 早期的圣安东尼人只是把垃圾和其他废物排入运河，然后顺流而下.
In 1836, the San Pedro acequía was reserved for drinking and cooking water only; penalties were established for using it for bathing or as a sewer. 尽管原油, 1866年，一场严重的霍乱疫情促使人们真正努力建立一个 满意和安全的供水系统.
供水系统开发
多年来，人们讨论过许多水发展的建议，但后来都放弃了，直到该市最终与J.B. 1877年4月3日，拉科斯特联合公司. LaCoste constructed a pumphouse near the headwaters of the San Antonio River in what is now Brackenridge Park. 水压带动水泵将水提升至位于现址的老柯士甸道附近的蓄水池 bt365体育在线备用植物园. This site was high enough for the water to flow by gravity into the distribution system.
1883年，一家由乔治·W·布什领导的新公司. Brackenridge获得了水系统. 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. 两年后，在市场街和bt365体育在线备用河上钻了一口8英寸深的发现井，井深890英尺. By 1900, all of the system’s water was obtained from artesian wells linked directly to the distribution system.
外资
In 1905, George Brackenridge sold his interests in the water company to George Kobusch of St. 路易斯,莫. At that time, the name was changed to the San Antonio 水 Supply Company.
此后不久，Kobusch把公司卖给了一个比利时财团. 而它是由外国人拥有的, 这家水务公司被称为“bt365体育在线备用公司”(Compagnie des Eaux de San Antonio)，由bt365体育在线备用的密西西比河谷信托公司(Mississippi Valley Trust company of St. 路易. Partly to recover some of their financial losses from World War I, the Belgians sold the 1920年向一群当地投资者出售了自来水厂.
城市水板
Contract and rate disagreements marred the relationship between the city and the new water entity. In 1924, the company demanded a rate increase and because an agreement could not be reached, the new rates were put into effect and the City was prohibited from interfering.
这种情况促使市政府发行了700万美元的收益债券，以便直接购买系统. 6月1日, 1925, 这家公用事业公司后来被称为城市水务局(CWB)，其管理由市议会任命的受托人委员会负责. 在购买时, the company was pumping an average of 25 million gallons daily to serve some 38,000客户.
同时努力开发一个足够的饮用水供应系统, 该市还试图解决卫生下水道的需求. 市长布莱恩·卡拉汉二世(Bryan Callaghan II)在1890年倡导建立一个有组织的污水处理系统, 但直到1894年才有了授权. 到1900年，该系统已全面投入使用. The original sewage collection effort divided the city into four districts and several sub-districts. 一条36到48英寸的砖砌排水管将污水输送到目前斯丁森油田附近的一个污水处理场.
In 1897, San Antonio had contracted with a private firm to handle the irrigation and land disposal of the sewage. When downstream irrigators became irate over the increased sewage load in the river, San Antonio contracted with another private corporation for additional sewage disposal. To contain any surplus, a dam was constructed at the south end of Mitchell Lake.
同年，市水务局成立, the city began preparations for the construction of the Rilling Road sewage treatment plant. In 1930, that facility began operation with a capacity of 25 million gallons per day (mgd). 该方案采用活性污泥处理方法, 经过处理的废水经重力排入米切尔湖.
Flows into Mitchell Lake quickly reached capacity, especially during heavy rainfall. 由于下游居民的投诉, 市政府接管了米切尔湖的运营和维护. 1936年，瑞林路处理厂进行了改造, 1956, 1958, 1962 and 1966 to raise the facilities capacity to 105 mgd by the end of 1966.
增长 & 增加水的需求
在大萧条和战争年代, the 城市水板 was able to keep pace with increasing demand without much difficulty. 然而, the post-war building boom and the impact of the 1950s drought significantly taxed the Board’s capabilities.
在1950年代中期, 水的运作利用了许多广泛分布的二级泵站，这些二级泵站的设计是为邻近的社区服务的. These stations essentially operated independently and did not provide adequate system redundancy. 几乎所有的CWB泵都设置在比佛利别墅监测井的海拔623英尺的平均海平面(msl). 1956年8月，监测井的水位下降到612英尺msl. 市水务局已经开始了一项降低水泵的密集工作, 但这家公用事业公司仍然难以满足需求.
董事会已授权与布莱克和威奇咨询工程师公司签订合同，于1954年评估供水系统并制定一项总体改进计划. 布莱克和威奇提出了一系列建议，其中涉及大规模改进审计委员会的运作. 最初的债券契约规定，在1925年发行的所有债券全部到期之前，不得再发行其他债券. 因为一些未偿债券的到期日是1965年, no funds other than revenues were available for capital improvements financing. 为了使自来水设施现代化，需要21美元 在1956年6月22日的选举中，发行了100万美元的债券.
Applewhite水库工程
20世纪60年代到80年代, both the water and 废水 systems continued to expand as customer demand increased.
In 1965, the city built the Leon Creek 治疗 Plant in order to ease the burden on Rilling Road. This facility had an initial capacity of 12 mgd and was later upgraded to a permitted capacity of 35 mgd. In 1970, the city added the Salado Creek Plant with an initial capacity of 24 mgd, 随后升级到36 MGD. 在这个时期的大部分时间里, 市水务局参与了试图获得补充供水的谈判或诉讼.
然后在1979年, 由城市规划委员会成立的一个委员会向市议会报告说，bt365体育在线备用应该寻求必要的联邦和州许可，以建设bt365体育在线备用的第一个地表水供应项目，即阿普尔怀特水库. 此后不久, the Council passed a resolution directing the 水 Board to initiate the permitting process. The 水 Board received the state permit from the Texas 水 Commission in 1982, 以及美国政府的404许可证.S. 美国陆军工程兵团8月8日. 28, 1989. 几个月后，湖上的工程开始了.
5月4日, 1991, the citizens of San Antonio – by a narrow margin – voted to discontinue the Applewhite Project. 在接下来的几个月里，市水务局的受托人投票决定起诉该市选举的合法性. Court action subsequently upheld the city’s position and Applewhite construction was halted.
While water issues garnered the most attention, 废水 continued to be a demanding subject. 在70年代和80年代, the 208 Wastewater Policy Advisory Committee worked diligently to address the area’s needs. 这一努力的一个重要成果是该市决定建造多斯里奥斯污水处理厂，并放弃问题困扰的瑞林路设施.
1987年，Dos Rios开业，容量为83万加仑/天. The city also purchased the Medio Creek Plant from Lackland 水 Company in 1991. 这座工厂建于20世纪70年代初，最初的产能为5台.5个MGD，现已扩展到6个.5 mgd. This acquisition allowed the city to provide service to the rapidly growing northwest portion of Bexar County.
不再用于治疗, 米切尔湖已被宣布为鸟类保护区, 此外，该城市还帮助规划和实施了许多生态良好和美观的改善湖泊和周边物业. This unique and beautiful bird haven consists of the 600-acre Mitchell Lake, 215英亩的湿地和池塘, 385 这里是米切尔湖奥杜邦中心(Mitchell Lake Audubon Center)的所在地.
锯的诞生
In 1989, bt365体育在线备用市要求州立法机关通过一项法案，允许建立一个专门用于再利用该市污水的地区. 参议院法案1667, 是谁建立了阿拉莫水资源保护和再利用区, 是州长在6月16日签署的吗, 1989. In 1991, the District applied for a permit to divert water from the Leon Creek Plant for reuse purposes. The 城市水板 opposed that action due to its possible impact on the Applewhite permit.
这场由各水务机构相互竞争引起的争议促使市议会在1991年12月投票决定成立一家负责供水的公用事业公司, 废水, 雨水和重用.
The refinancing of $635 million in water and 废水 bonds made the merger possible. 1992年5月19日，一个新的实体——bt365体育在线备用供水系统(SAWS)诞生.
SAWS was created through the consolidation of three predecessor agencies: the 城市水板 (the previous city-owned water supply utility); the City Wastewater Department (a department of the city government responsible for sewage collection and treatment); and the Alamo 水 保护 and Reuse District (an independent city agency created to develop a system for reuse of the city’s treated 废水).
SAWS also owns and operates – a separate utility – the former 城市水板’s chilled water and steam plant, which is a centralized heating and cooling system for the buildings in and around HemisFair Park.
在整合, SAWS也被指定负责遵守联邦许可证的要求，以处理城市的雨水径流. 除了, 城市规划部的水资源规划人员被调到新的机构，赋予它一整套完整的相关职能.
sws规划作用的一个重要组成部分是保护城市供水的纯洁性 爱德华兹含水层包括强制执行某些城市 与分区发展有关的条例.
BexarMet合并
2011年，美国参议院(State Sen. 卡洛斯Uresti, Senate Bill 341 set the course for merging the Bexar Metropolitan 水 District with bt365体育在线备用供水系统. 在众议院和参议院都通过后, 选举日期定在2011年11月，届时BexarMet纳税者将投票决定是否解散这家公用事业公司.
这项议案以74%的选票获得通过.S. 司法部(Department of Justice)于2012年1月底批准了这一结果.
sb341呼吁在五年内全面整合BexarMet. 它进一步允许saw保持财务独立，直到最终合并完成，而不会对saw的客户或债券持有人造成任何不利的财政影响.
除了, sb341要求成立一个咨询委员会, which will provide input to the SAWS 董事会 during this critical time of integration.