San Antonio, TX Water Use Rules: Recycled Water Rules (2026)

Article VIII of Chapter 34 sets up SAWS' recycled water program, whose purpose under Sec. 34-1141 is to replace Edwards Aquifer water withdrawals with recycled, drought-proof supply, in part by letting customers exchange their Edwards Aquifer withdrawal rights for a contractual commitment to equivalent recycled water deliveries. Every recycled water customer must sign a written contract with SAWS under Sec. 34-1142. Section 34-1143 authorizes recycled water only for commercial, industrial, irrigation, landscape maintenance, streamflow enhancement, and other uses spelled out in that contract, and requires compliance with 30 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 210.

Section 34-1144 flatly bars recycled water for drinking, food preparation, domestic purposes, or any human consumption, and a violation can trigger immediate termination of the customer's contract. Section 34-1145 makes it unlawful to sell recycled water to anyone for a use other than one authorized under Sec. 34-1143. Water quality is fixed by Sec. 34-1161 at a minimum standard of 5 mg/L BOD5, 3 NTU turbidity, and fecal coliform capped at 20 CFU/100 mL as a geometric mean (75 CFU/100 mL for any single grab sample); supplying substandard recycled water to another person is separately unlawful under Sec.

34-1162. Section 34-1185 bans any cross connection between a customer's recycled water lines and its potable water system, and requires a plumbing inspection before recycled water service starts and a reinspection at least every three years. Article VIII carries no penalty clause of its own, so violations fall to the citywide default in Sec. 1-5: a fine not exceeding $500, with each day of a continuing violation treated as a separate offense.