Heat is on to conserve more water
San Antonio high temperatures have hovered near 90 degrees this week. That is the average high temperature for May and approximately 20 degrees hotter than normal.
A few hot days do not make an average, but it is worrying for those of us who just sweated our way through 58 days with highs of at least 100 degrees last summer. Are we in store for another miserable six months? We will have to wait and see, but we know one thing now: Bexar County is in exceptional drought according to the U.S. Drought Monitor and many of our water resources are worryingly low for this time of year.
A quick look at the numbers tells us how we got here. In 2022, San Antonio received only 11.5 inches of rainfall, less than half of our normal amount and only one inch more than 1917, the driest year on record. Surprisingly, the city received six more inches of rain in 2011, which was slightly hotter than 2022.
Better indicators of our current situation are water levels. The Edwards Aquifer’s J-17 index measures the aquifer’s pressure surface. The relationship between J-17 levels and the flows at the Comal Springs determines how much water is available to pump. The J-17 water level on Jan. 1 was about 10 feet lower than it was on Jan. 1, 2012, and 31 feet below normal for January. More concerning is that Jan. 1 water levels were close to where
they were in 1954, which was the middle of a record drought when a whole lot fewer people lived in this region.
Why do these numbers matter?
In 2022, San Antonio received almost 64 percent of its water supply from the Edwards Aquifer, so cutbacks matter, especially as we start a year this low. The Edwards Aquifer has been in Stage 3 drought levels since June 2022. San Antonio Water System remains in Stage 2 drought restrictions. Are we going to run out of water for our basic needs? No, but further cutbacks will be
required if water levels continue to drop. Our behavior dictates when and if that happens.
Aquifer levels and SAWS pumping data provide important information about the impacts of our behavior. Edwards Aquifer water levels are not this low solely because of drought. Our water use determines how much water is removed. While San Antonio is known for our conservation efforts, the summer of 2022 showed us that not everyone is playing by the same rulebook in terms of water use.
Despite the extremely dry weather, average individual water
usage amounts increased across San Antonio as compared to 2021. Much of the increase went to outdoor irrigation systems in newer houses, but that only tells part of the story. During the summer of 2022, half of San Antonio residents played by the rules with 52 percent using less than 6,000 gallons a month. This was 23 percent of total water used. However, 5.7 percent of customers used more than 20,000 gallons of water a month. This was 21 percent of water used. That means fewer than 6 percent of SAWS customers used almost the same amount as 52 percent. One could argue that using such a high amount of water is their choice — as long as they are willing to pay for it. I disagree.
First, much of this high water use was unlawful and in violation of the drought rules. Some continued use even after citations were issued. More importantly, water is a shared resource. Today’s water use drives future water supply decisions, so large water users can force highcost investments that will financially burden all ratepayers. Lastly, this is not who we are as a city. San Antonio has an exemplary record on water efficiency and SAWS just implemented an innovative affordability program that was motivated by a citizen rate committee. Why should a small portion of our community be permitted to undermine both of these laudable achievements?
The years immediately after 2011 brought above-average rainfall. We can wish for that now, but we cannot assume it will happen. One challenge with a drought is you don’t know how far you are into one until it is over. Once we pump out water, it is not replenished until it rains. We can’t control the weather, but we can control our response to it. We must preserve our water savings account. That means all of us, working together to determine how we will get through this summer and beyond, especially if the rains don’t come.