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A Tour of the San Antonio Water System

More than 80 lawmakers, legislative staffers, water planners and reporters toured the facilities of the San Antonio Water System on March 19. Here's what they saw.

By Anneke Paterson
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The lobby of San Antonio Water System headquarters in San Antonio, featuring an 11-foot model of a low-flow toilet.
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez
A tour group samples treated wastewater at the Dos Rios Water Recycling Center, operated by the San Antonio Water System.
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez
The recycled water outfall on the site of the Dos Rios Water Recycling Center outside of San Antonio.
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez
Greg Eckhardt of the San Antonio Water System speaks to visitors during their tour of a SAWS facilities.
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez
San Antonio Water System President and CEO Robert Puente speaks at the SAWS headquarters in San Antonio.
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez
A cascade aerator on the site of the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant outside of San Antonio, where the San Antonio Water System maintains an underground storage reservoir.
A cascade aerator on the site of the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant outside of San Antonio, where the San Antonio Water System maintains an underground storage reservoir. Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez/The Texas Tribune
A cascade aerator is shown at the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant outside of San Antonio, where the San Antonio Water System maintains an underground storage reservoir.
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez
A cascade aerator on the site of the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant outside of San Antonio, where the San Antonio Water System maintains an underground storage reservoir.
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez for The Texas Tribune
A sludge thickener on the site of the Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant outside of San Antonio, where the San Antonio Water System maintains an underground storage reservoir.
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez
Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant manager Roberto Macias speaks to visitors during a tour of the San Antonio Water System facilities. Macias is head of SAWS' underground storage reservoir system.
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez

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