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Council hears revised SAWS emergency interconnect plan, signals support for new alignment and design amendment
Summary
Staff presented a revised plan to connect Fair Oaks Ranch—s water system to SAWS (San Antonio Water System) along Leslie Pfeiffer Drive to serve Pressure Zone C; staff requested direction to proceed with a design amendment that adds $40,695 to design costs and cited a $50,000 verbal developer contribution to help offset construction.
The council received an update on the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) emergency interconnect project and signaled support for a revised alignment that uses existing easements along Leslie Pfeiffer Drive.
Assistant Director of Public Works Steven Fried said the interconnect is intended to provide an emergency backup connection capable of delivering up to 1,000 gallons per minute to Pressure Zone C (the portion of the city south of Deep Veil Corn Road). He said the originally planned connection near Fair Oaks Parkway proved unfeasible because SAWS— line was in a steel casing and the required easements were not available.
Fried said the proposed alternative alignment would replace roughly 700 feet of 3- and 6-inch lines with a 12-inch line, provide capacity to sustain pressure (42 psi) above the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality minimum of 35 psi, and give the city 5 to 6 days of sustainable pressure under peak demand if the local system is offline. He identified the additional design amendment cost at $40,695 and estimated construction at approximately $352,000 (including a 20% contingency). He said a developer for a nearby parcel has verbally agreed to contribute $50,000 toward the project fire-flow needs, which would offset city cost.
Staff asked for council direction to proceed with the revised location and to execute the design amendment. Council members asked clarifying questions and indicated support for the new alignment and for staff to proceed with the next steps: finalize the design amendment, bring back a formal interconnect agreement and a resolution to accept the developer contribution, publish a bid in February and award construction in March, start construction in May, and target completion by June 2026.
Quotes
"This design will be capable of delivering up to 1,000 gallons per minute ... and it's designed to maintain 42 PSI, well above TCEQ's minimum requirements of 35 PSI," Assistant Director Steven Fried said.
Background and next steps
Staff expects to execute the design amendment in November, return a formal interconnect agreement and developer-contribution resolution in December, publish the bid in February, award construction in March, and begin construction in May 2026 with a projected completion in June 2026. Staff noted current budget impacts and identified the developer contribution as a partial offset.
