AWWA REUSE52122

San Antonio Water System (SAWS) of San Antonio, Texas, has planned, designed, constructed, and has begun operating a municipal recycling system to supply 35,000 acre-feet to municipal customers and 40,000 acre-feet to the local electric utility for power plant cooling. An intense legal and regulatory climate thrust SAWS into a water recycling program that had been discussed in local technical circles for many years. Endangered species lawsuits, edicts by federal judges, and development of a Regional Groundwater Authority by the State imposed pumping restrictions on the city's sole source of potable water. The SAWS Board endorsed a multi-million dollar capital program and agreed to expedite this program. All efforts typical of this project magnitude were, of necessity, started simultaneously instead of being developed one step at a time. Customer development, new service agreements, new City ordinances and rates were initiated concurrent with design and construction of the facilities. Challenges during construction increased the excitement of meeting program schedules to provide recycled water before the year 2000. This paper examines lessons learned in moving from limited distribution of recycled water to one of the largest systems in the United States in just four years. Includes figures.