San Antonio to Require Rain Sensors, Irrigation Zoning

While San Antonio, Texas already prides itself on being a water-conscious city, the prospect of higher water costs in the future has prompted additional water use ordinances that will affect landscape and irrigation contractors.

After nine months of drought in 2001, then-mayor Howard Peak asked the San Antonio Water System to develop a year-round conservation program that would result in a decrease in the frequency and impact of severe drought restrictions. The results of the four years of work came about when the City ordinance passed in January 2005. The Conservation ordinance detailed provisions that could provide a savings of 1.3 billion gallons of water annually.

After many meetings and open forums with a cross-section of our stakeholders, over 4,000 completed surveys, valuable input was gathered from industries and groups, including:

• Realtors and developers
• Home Builders
• Community Conservation Committee
• Landscape and irrigation firms
• Restaurant owners
• Grass producers
• Manufacturers
• Building owners and managers
• Neighborhood association presidents
• Car wash owners

In addition, over 4,000 surveys were gathered from SAWS customers. "The provisions we've outlined in this ordinance should save us about 1.3 billion gallons per year," says Calvin Finch, director of Conservation. "That equates to about three gallons per person, per day, which is a huge step in reducing the need for additional, more expensive, water resources."

Specific requirements of the oridnance will impact landscape and irrigation contractors. Primarily, all in-ground sprinkler systems will be required to include rain sensors beginning in 2006. Rain sensors are designed to override the normal cycle of an irrigation system by shutting it off when an adequate amount of rainfall has been received. According to SAWS, any system installed after March 9, 2003 were already required to include a rain sensor. SAWS is offering $50 rebates for rain sensors installed prior to that date.

"Part of this ordinance is basically following through with decisions that were made two years ago," says Dana Nichols, conservation planner. "Rain sensors are a great idea for many reasons. They let your sprinklers run only when it's needed, which conserves water, saves money, and protects lawns from the effects of overwatering."
If SAWS customers do not install rain sensors and a complaint is made, they will only receive one warning before being issued a "water waster" ticket.

Other components of San Antonio's conservation ordinance include the following:

• New commercial buildings will be required to set up systems to collect air conditioner condensate to use in cooling towers or for irrigation.
• Annual irrigation audits will be required for golf courses, athletic fields and other larger properties.
• New irrigation systems may have zones, minimum dimensions for irrigation areas and flow directed away from impervious surfaces.

Read the full text of the ordinance for more information or call SAWS at 210/ 704-7354.