SAN ANTONIO – As work on the Vista Ridge Pipeline project continues, two water tanks have sprung up on the North Side of San Antonio, marking the spot where the 142-mile pipeline will connect into the city.
The Agua Vista station is located near Las Lomas Elementary School, which is easily marked by the two 10-million-gallon tanks that sit on the site.
Up to 40 million gallons will move through the site each day, with water arriving from the pipeline in one tank, being treated to match the makeup of the city's water and then being moved into the second tank, from which it will enter the existing system.
"This is where it all comes together. It's so exciting to see," spokeswoman Anne Hayden, with San Antonio Water Systems, said.
While Vista Ridge Pipeline has been a controversial project, SAWS said it is one that is important for the city's long-term water supply. The pipeline takes water from the Carrizo and Simsboro aquifers in Burleson County, which the utility says have never been under drought restrictions.
There's still work to do in either direction.
Hayden said the pipeline is not completely finished, and there will need to be some new pipes added onto the SAWS side, along with major work at some existing pump stations.
There is a hard deadline to get it all done. Whether the pipeline is ready for water to start flowing through it or not, SAWS will need to start paying for the water in April 2020.
The utility is confident it will be ready.
"We are really looking at this hard and making sure we hit those interim deadlines to make sure that we're going to be able to do it," Hayden said.
"Everybody has that as part of their performance goals. So we're all working hard on it."