“Everyone knows San Antonio needs more water. Everyone knows the future costs of water and energy will rise, here and everywhere. Everyone knows that Texas is a state with leadership that has never shown the interest or ability to move water from parts of the state where there is an abundance to parts of the state where there is scarcity.”
So wrote journalist Robert Rivard, the sage of San Antonio, days before the 11-0 City Council vote on Oct. 30 in favor a $3.4-billion groundwater transfer contract that will increase water rates by 16% starting in 2020. An earlier vote by the three-person board of the project sponsor, San Antonio Water System (SAWS), also was unanimous.