SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Water System is launching its new water project, the Vista Ridge pipeline.
Mayor Ivy Taylor, along with SAWS and Abengoa officials, commemorated the project Wednesday morning by signing a large water pipe -- 4 1/2 feet in diameter -- at the Pearl Amphitheater along the San Antonio River.
City Council approved the pipeline in late October, despite heavy opposition from environmental groups and concerned residents.
The project will build 142 miles of pipeline between Burleson and Bexar counties, pulling 50,000 acre-feet of water from the Carrizo-Wilcox and Simsboro aquifers by 2020.
"This is water for the future," said SAWS chairman Berto Guerra. "(It's) water for our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren."
SAWS officials estimate the pipeline would increase the city's water supply by 20 percent, providing water to approximately 160,000 families over the next decade.
It's expected to cost $3.4 billion, funded by SAWS customers. SAWS officials have said rates could go up by 16 percent over four years.