Much of the San Antonio region has been under Extreme or Exceptional Drought since mid-March.
SAN ANTONIO — South Texas’s ongoing major drought has pushed the Edwards Aquifer Authority – which manages the region’s primary water source – to issue Stage 5 restrictions to San Antonio permit holders for the first time.
The restrictions upgrade means 1,233 customers permitted to draw aquifer groundwater in Medina, Bexar, Atascosa, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Comal and Hays counties must reduce how much they’re able to withdraw annually by 44% for the time being. Those customers are a mix of municipal, industrial and irrigation.
“These reductions apply to all Edwards Aquifer groundwater permit holders authorized to pump more than three acre-feet annually,” the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) said in a release. “This includes industrial and agricultural users, as well as water utilities authorized to pump water from the Edwards Aquifer for delivery to their respective customers.”
Stage 5 restrictions are triggered when the J-17 index well in Bexar County is under 625 feet; as of Friday, it’s at 624.7 feet, the lowest since June 1990, the EAA says. But the Comal Springs water flow is 242 cubic feet per second below historical norms, while the San Marcos Springs flow is 98 cubic feet per second below normal.
Most of the San Antonio region has been under Extreme or Exceptional Drought – the U.S. Drought Monitor’s two most severe classifications – since mid-March. San Antonio received just 5.61 inches of rain through the first four months of the year; historically, we get 8.43 inches through April.
The upgraded EAA restrictions don’t impact SAWS customers in San Antonio. Those households are still in Stage 3 restrictions, which means they’re limited to:
- Watering their yards once a week, between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. or 9 p.m. and midnight on their designated day
- Watering with a handheld hose permitted at any time
- Watering with drip irrigation through the ground is allowed Mondays and Fridays from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. or from 9 a.m. to midnight.
SAWS will remain in Stage 3 for now, according to Communications Director Anne Hayden.
“SAWS is prepared to successfully manage severe drought with diversified new water supplies and water conservation programs,” Hayden said. “SAWS customers have been keep to minimizing the effects of this drought.”
She added that now isn’t the time for SAWS households to install new turfgrass or water-dependent plants. Instead, the utility is touting its program that pays San Antonians to hold off on planting until the summer—if you do, you can earn up to $600.