San Antonio has gone more than 40 days without measurable rain as of this week, the longest dry stretch since 2015.
The last measurable rainfall was on Sept. 5, according to the city's water utility.
The San Antonio Water System reports it’s only the fourth time the city has weathered a rain-free run of at least 40 days since the turn of the 21st century.
“We hear some people saying that summer is over and assuming that means an end to the drought. Actually, the last five years are comparable to the drought of record in the ‘50s when the Edwards Aquifer saw record lows. This drought isn’t over,” said Karen Guz, SAWS Vice President of Conservation.
Stage 5 Edwards Aquifer pumping restrictions go into effect at 625’ at the J-17 well, which SAWS officials said we are rapidly approaching. Stage 5 pumping restrictions would require a 44% cutback in pumping from the Edwards, which applies to SAWS.
San Antonians remain under Stage 3 water restrictions, which means automatic sprinklers can only be used once a week based on their street address and only between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. and midnight on those days.
SAWS officials said under Stage 3, water users that exceed 20,000 gallons in a month will see significant surcharges applied to their water bill.
So far, SAWS has used alternative water sources to keep residents from seeing more severe restrictions on landscape watering as the Edwards Aquifer Authority requires pumpers to reduce their use. And residents themselves appear largely to be following water restrictions.
The difference between the ‘50s and now is that San Antonio is prepared to successfully manage severe drought with diversified new water supplies and reasonable conservation programs,” Guz continued. “We want to thank our customers for responding well to watering rules. They have been key to minimizing the effects of drought.”
SAWS said with current weather patterns this is not a good time for new plantings that require a lot of watering to thrive. Customers who do so will not receive any variance that would allow them to avoid a surcharge.
The same applies to refilling swimming pools, which could also trigger those surcharges.
SAWS also said homeowner associations cannot require homeowners to have grass or keep a green yard, but HOAs can have some maintenance rules.
SAWS reports dry shifting ground is causing the water lines buried in them to burst. They predict October will see around 950 main breaks before the month ends, an all-time high for the month in any year.
More details on watering rules can be found at saws.org/drought.
SAWS has more than 2 million customers in the San Antonio area.
