SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Water System (SAWS) board of trustees discussed increasing water rates and the CEO’s performance during a monthly meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting concluded with Robert Puente’s “outstanding” execution as CEO in 2025 based on a SAWS performance plan.
The plan created by SAWS trustees used a 132.5-point scale, according to SAWS Chairwoman Jelynne LeBlanc Jamison.
Jamison said Puente scored 117.35 points (roughly 88.6%) in 2025.
Puente will receive a $132,849 bonus next January because of a deferred compensation plan, according to a SAWS spokesperson.
According to U.S. Census data, the median household income in San Antonio is around $65,000.
Jamison said tier-one metrics, key initiatives and leadership effectiveness determine the SAWS performance plan.
Tier-one metrics covered total recordable incident rate, service affordability, employee engagement, regulatory compliance, water quality and reliability and security index.
“In five years, our three-year average incident rate reached 2.7,” Jamison said. “We had a one-time high of 5.6 with over 93 incidents, and in 2025, we are celebrating an incident rate of 2.7, which is the equivalent of 54 incidents. That is huge.”
Bills could go up
Discussions of Puente’s performance bonus occurred during the same meeting where trustees discussed potential gradual rate increases of roughly $19 for residents over the next three years.
Residents could see their bills increase as early as July 1.
The board considered a rate increase plan that could increase the average bill of $56.68 today to $75.19 in 2029 — roughly a 32.7% increase.
“For 2026, the average residential customer’s bill would increase by $4.47,” said Cecilia Velasquez, vice president of customer experience and strategic initiatives.
Rate increases won’t impact customers enrolled in the Uplift assistance program and will stay the same for the next four years, Velasquez said.
Another bill increase is targeted at general and irrigation customers, including small businesses, hospitals, hotels, schools, apartments and large-scale industrial customers.
“At the lower usage (10,000 gallons), general customers would see a 5.9% increase, while the higher usage at 100,000 gallons would see a 6.7% increase,” Velasquez said.
She also mentioned that irrigation customers utilizing 10,000 gallons would see a 7.5% increase, and 100,000-gallon users would see 8.2% increase.
Residents have an opportunity to speak at the public hearing in front of the board of trustees on May 5, before the city council votes on the rate plan in May or June.
SAWS is located at 2800 U.S. Highway 281 North. Meetings are normally held in the Executive Conference Room 695 of the Administrative Offices Building at 9 a.m., according to the website.
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