San Antonio was originally issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit as required by the Clean Water Act of 1972 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1996 (San Antonio Permit Number – TXS001901). This permit established basic structures and procedures for regulating discharge of pollutants into public waterways.
The original NPDES permit expired in 2001. This permit was subsequently replaced in 2003 by a Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Permit administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) (San Antonio Renewal Permit Number – 04284).
The permit governs all areas within the corporate boundary of the city which are served by the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) owned and operated by its permittees.
2011 TPDES MS4 Permit (PDF)
The MS4 for San Antonio & Bexar County discharges water runoff to various drainage ditches, tributaries and other channels that eventually flow into the following San Antonio River Basin waterways:
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
San Antonio’s Phase I MS4 Permit is held and administered by the following permittees:
All permittees are responsible for conducting the following:
Permit obligations include:
The City of San Antonio SWMP consists of:
Under the Phase I MS4 permit, the City of San Antonio is required to oversee, manage and implement governing operations/measures for the following:
San Antonio City Ordinance establishes monthly storm water fees and rate schedules for San Antonio residents, businesses and other water users in order to help support operations, maintenance, engineering/design and capital improvements related to San Antonio’s storm water infrastructure.
The storm water fee is billed by San Antonio Water System (SAWS). All storm water operations, drainage maintenance and enhancement projects are managed and coordinated through the City’s Public Works department.
COSA Public Works - Storm Water Utility Fee