PAC Student Media

By Oziel Trevino
Pulse staff reporter

San Antonio’s water supply currently serves 1.6 million people, but the Alamo City is expected to double its size by 2040. That would be the equivalent of everyone from Austin moving to San Antonio. This growth could affect our water supply.

“We always thought that the natural resources in the world were endless. We thought the ocean would never end. We thought things that we grow will never end or be poisoned, and now we are starting to see over the years that those resources are drying up. Water is not as available,” said Charley Garcia, an adviser at Palo Alto College.

We need to think of ways to conserve and protect our water supply. The weather is unpredictable sometimes, and we should not trust Mother Nature to provide the water we need.

According to SAWS’ website, “In the water loss audit submitted to the Texas Water Development Board for the time period of January through December 2015, our system lost an estimated 11,433,519,050 gallons of water through main breaks, leaks, inaccurate customer metering, theft and other causes.”

The San Antonio Water System has procedures in place to conserve our water supply. The SAWS’ website has information on SA’s drought restrictions, water quality, and the environment. Every few months the team at SAWS conducts a water quality report that gives information on the quality of the water in San Antonio.

Sergio Rivera, superintendent of Facilities at Palo Alto College, said that his team is cautious with the water quality at PAC. Their number one priority is the health and safety of students and staff.

“San Antonio has the cleanest and best-tasting water,” said Rivera.

Palo Alto College students who live in San Antonio have said that they do not notice a difference between drinking tap and bottled water. On the other hand, most students who live outside of San Antonio have said they would rather drink SA’s public water than the water in their hometown.

San Antonio water is clean and the water quality report has no violations.

“SAWS has a great track record and that’s important, but we have a very fragile recharge zone for our primary water source,” said Amy Hardberger, associate dean for St. Mary’s School of Law.

“The Edwards Aquifer is a unique groundwater system and one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world.  It is one of the greatest natural resources on Earth, serving the diverse agricultural, industrial, recreational, and domestic needs of almost two million users in south central Texas,” according to Gregg Eckhardt, an environmental scientist.