EDITORIAL: City Council shouldn't play politics with San Antonio's water security

May 28-If a majority of City Council members balk at a proposed rate increase for the San Antonio Water System, they will be playing politics with our water security.

They won't stop a rate increase. Instead, they will only succeed in delaying one. And as construction costs increase with time, they likely will cost ratepayers more in the long run.

We understand the political popularity of rejecting a proposed rate increase, particularly when we all are feeling the pain of inflation and gas prices that recently rose above $4 a gallon.

But there is never a good time for a rate increase, and it's imperative that San Antonio continue to invest in and maintain its utility infrastructure. City Council members and Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who supports the increase, were elected to make hard decisions.

SAWS' requested rate increase, scheduled for a council vote on June 18, should be an easy decision given the obvious need. But should be is not the same as will be.

The proposed four-year rate increase, which SAWS' board unanimously supported this month, would raise the average customer's bill about 33% by 2029. The increase would be gradual, with average bills going up by less than $5 a month each year.

Lower-income ratepayers would be insulated from the increase. Rates would remain unchanged for SAWS customers enrolled in its income-based Uplift program, while the threshold to be eligible for the program would increase from 125% of the federal poverty level to 150%.

Before we turn to the needed infrastructure this increase would fund, we are hard-pressed to think of any business whose prices and costs will remain static from now to 2029. To argue that SAWS or CPS Energy can meet community needs, improve infrastructure and address growth over the next four years without raising rates is magical thinking.

This rate increase is all about infrastructure.

It would fund $254 million of improvements at the Steven M. Clouse Water Recycling Center and $85 million at the Leon Creek Water Recycling Center. It would fund expanding SAWS' aquifer storage and recovery facility, and it would replace 77 miles of water mains, among other priorities.

SAWS has rightfully taken heat for water the system loses due to leaks and breaks. In 2025, that was 16.5 billion gallons. That is unacceptable, and the utility is making progress on this front. But it's not like avoiding a rate increase will help this effort.

While it might make for good politics to hammer SAWS on its water loss, as District 7 City Council Member Marina Alderete Gavito has done, we have yet to hear opponents of the rate increase explain how they would improve the system without it. Pipes will still leak. Wastewater will still need to be treated. Growth will need to be met. Water sources will need to be diversified.

Addressing these complicated issues can't be reduced to the cliché of working smarter and more efficiently. We want that, of course. We want SAWS to be as efficient as possible. But we also recognize that you get what you pay for.

Speaking of getting what you pay for, there is some community angst over SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente's bonus of $132,000. We understand how people might be upset about this, but it would be a nonissue for a privately held utility.

Also, the bonus is tied to performance. Through that lens, it would be far more disconcerting if Puente didn't hit the mark and received no bonus, or a much smaller one. That would be a warning sign that the utility was not run well.

These are tough times financially - we feel inflation, too - but we unreservedly support the rate increase. It's paramount that San Antonio invests in its water infrastructure and water security. It's pay now or pay later. And if we pay later, we will pay more.

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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 11:19 AM.