San Antonio Water System

With one of Texas’ most progressive water-efficiency programs, joining WaterSense was a natural next step for San Antonio Water System (SAWS). SAWS’ water conservation efforts have saved more than 175 billions gallons of water equating to over $500 million in savings. The utility built on this success by incorporating WaterSense into their water-efficiency programs.

In 2007, SAWS officially launched its “Kick the Can” toilet giveaway program, which offers customers up to two free WaterSense labeled toilets per household. The program is funded through SAWS’ tiered rate structure. A percentage of the revenue from the highest tier is dedicated to a general conservation fund that supports the program. In less than a decade, SAWS has seen its retrofits increase six-fold, climbing from 5,000 in 1998 to more than 30,000 toilets in 2007. On the commercial side, SAWS has performed 60,000 apartment retrofits since 1998 and has now retrofitted every school, college, and university in the San Antonio area. Additionally, 1,200 restaurants and three hotels have participated in the “Kick the Can” program.

SAWS’ community-based marketing system is an important aspect of their success. The “Season to Save” program pairs nonprofit community organizations with SAWS to help market high-efficiency toilets to San Antonio residents. These nonprofit organizations must enroll in one of four mandatory "Season to Save" training sessions, which provide group representatives with program details. Members go door-to-door from September to December to enroll customers who live in homes built prior to 1992 when 1.6 gallon-per-flush toilets became the standard for new homes. Customers are pre-qualified by SAWS to ensure they meet requirements for receiving the free toilet. Customers who meet the requirements receive a postcard voucher, which must be presented at the toilet distribution event. The organizations earn $25 for each toilet they help to distribute, often earning tens of thousands of dollars for their efforts.

Karen Guz, conservation director at SAWS, explains the success of the program this way: “Conservation lets us use our water more wisely. A study five years ago showed that for every dollar we put into conservation, it saved us $7 long-term. And we avoid the high infrastructure costs of building a new water supply project and purifying and pumping that water into our system.”