Proposition 1, the Edwards Aquifer Protection Venue Project, would authorize the City of San Antonio to continue the watershed and preservation project initiated in 2000 and continued in 2005 and 2010. Through the 2015 extension of this project, a 1/8 cent sales tax collects $100 million and creates a new focus area. Of this amount, $90 million is funded for protection of property located over the Edwards Aquifer through the purchase of conservation easements and fee simple acquisition; the remaining $10 million is dedicated for Edwards Aquifer protection projects within urbanized areas of Bexar County’s recharge and contributing zones that will improve Edwards Aquifer water quality. This website addresses only the Edwards Aquifer Protection Projects (Protection Projects) component of the program.
FUN FACTS
More than 82% of drinking water used by SAWS customers comes from the Edwards Aquifer.
Streams and watersheds located in the contributing zone north of Bexar County play a vital role in the water quality that enters the Edwards Aquifer.
The Edwards Aquifer is San Antonio’s primary source of water and is important to the City’s economic viability. Rainfall enters the aquifer through fractures, caves, sinkholes and other features replenishing the aquifer. However, development over the aquifer’s recharge and contributing zones negatively impacts the quality and quantity of water entering our aquifer and reduces the number of recharge features needed to maintain San Antonio’s primary water resource. While rules are in place to regulate urban or incompatible development, the City seeks to utilize Protection Projects revenues to fund innovative project proposals submitted by developers, academicians, scientists, educators, and others from the private, public, and non-profit sectors toward greater protection of recharge areas and recharge features within Bexar County’s recharge and contributing zones.
– From City of San Antonio’s Guide to 2015 Sales Tax Propositions
For more information, please visit the City of San Antonio’s Edwards Aquifer Protection Program web page.