Congratulations to Robert Puente and the SAWS staff for this significant
Regional Partnership agreement. And thanks to the SA Express News for making the story front page headline news.
By Colin McDonald – SA Express-News July 14, 2010
GONZALES undefined By a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, the board of the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District approved a permit for San Antonio Water System to pump 11,687 acre-feet of water a year from the Carrizo Aquifer.
SAWS has pursued the permit for a decade as it tries to make San Antonio less dependent on the limited availability of the Edwards Aquifer. The Carrizo will be one of SAWS' largest non-Edwards sources.
“Diversifying our local water supply is essential to the San Antonio region's long-term success,” Mayor Julián Castro said in a statement. “Today's announcement shows that working with our neighbors can help make this happen.”
The permit undefined enough to supply 40,000 households undefined allows SAWS to pump for 30 years, but renewal is required every five years.
While SAWS staff cheered the vote, the local residents who packed the Gonzales County Courthouse for the meeting did not.
“I don't really understand why we would risk our own water supply,” said Mark Ploeger, a local rancher and president of the Water Protection Association, which opposed the permit. “Because once it is gone, it's going to hurt.”
Complete article at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/livinggreensa/saws_gets_water_permit_from_gonzales_county_district_98379849.html
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LeBlanc-Burley penalized for being from San Antonio
Kathy Clay-Little – SA Express-News July 16, 2010
According to Express-News columnist Greg Jefferson, CPS Energy interim General Manager Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley “most likely” will not succeed Milton Lee as CEO when he retires in September.
Based on Jefferson's article, Mayor Julián Castro, a CPS board member, has settled on another candidate. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the other candidates because, in spite of all the posturing coming from the mayor several months ago about transparency and the grandstanding replacement of board members in the interest of transparency, CPS Energy's illustrious board decided it is none of San Antonio's business who the CEO finalists were.
If it is indeed true that LeBlanc-Burley has hit yet another glass ceiling in advancing her career in San Antonio undefined she was almost summarily dismissed as a contender for the city manager position by the City Council of which Castro was a member in 2004 undefined it won't be because she hasn't demonstrated that she has the right stuff.
Complete article at:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/leblanc-burley_penalized_for_being_from_san_antonio_98542749.html
Express-News Editorial Board - July 13, 2010-07-15
In the near future, CPS Energy customers will be armed with real-time information about electricity usage that can help them save money.
And by giving consumers the information, utility officials hope to reduce overall energy consumption.
The Express-News recently reported that smart meters will be arriving in San Antonio by the end of the year, and that is good news.
The meters can be used to monitor electricity and natural gas consumption, and will allow customers to see how their daily routine affects their bills.
Officials believe the meters will guide consumers to use energy in lower-cost off-hours instead of during times of peak load.
CPS will either send text messages to consumers detailing their use and cost information or make the information available on the utility's website, the newspaper reported.
The utility will spend $20 million through 2011 on the smart meter pilot program, and officials told the Express-News they hope all customers will have smart meters by 2015.
The program is a wise approach that must be pursued vigorously and not allowed to veer off track.
A federally funded weatherization program, another conservation effort with the potential to benefit the entire community by reducing energy demand, has sparked some controversy because the operation is behind schedule.
The situation led to a clash between state and city officials, and brought a CPS Energy threat to quit the program if performance is not improved.
San Antonio has spent $1.2 million of a $12.4 million grant funded by the federal stimulus legislation, the newspaper reported. The goal is to weatherize 1,400 homes.
Discussions to work out the problem were set for Monday. The program is worth saving. Weatherization will help economically stressed residents reduce energy bills through efficiency and delay the need to finance new, costly production efforts.
The transition to an efficient energy-saving culture and system will have bumps in the road, but the utility and the city are moving in the right direction.
This community must stay focused on conservation.
By Tracy Idell Hamilton - Express-News July 13, 2010-07-15
The city of San Antonio and the state agency that oversees a $327 million stimulus-funded federal weatherization program worked through their difficulties Monday morning, with both sides pledging to make the program a success.
“San Antonio is not at risk of losing funds,” said Michael Gerber, executive director of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
He met with, among others, City Manager Sheryl Sculley, CPS Energy acting General Manager Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley and state Rep. Jose Menendez, who called the meeting “an open and frank discussion” and “very productive.”
“Our constituents don't care whose responsibility it is or where things got stuck,” Menendez said. “They just know there's $12 million coming to San Antonio, and they want to access that and have their bills lowered and homes made more efficient.”
Complete article at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/livinggreensa/city_state_iron_out_issues_on_weatherization_98293404.html
By Vicki Vaughan - Express-News July 15, 2010-07-15
Business leaders this week praised the San Antonio Water System's agreement to buy water from the Carrizo Aquifer, saying the move helps bolster the image of San Antonio not having a water-shortage issue.
In the deal signed Tuesday, SAWS will buy 11,687 acre-feet of water from the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District that will be transported by pipeline to San Antonio by late 2013.
Complete article at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/business_leaders_praise_saws_water_diversification_98554494.html