SAN ANTONIO – The largest consumers of water in San Antonio use an extraordinary amount of water throughout the year — but it is only a fraction compared to residents.
According to the Water City SA FAQ section, commercial, industrial, and institutional users account for about 29% of San Antonio Water System usage each year.
“I can say that is true of a lot of our top employers in town like H-E-B, they have very big operations with their food production. And yet they have over the years done several water efficiency projects with SAWS,” Karen Guz, the conservative director for SAWS said.
The Business Journal obtained records from SAWS that show information about the highest users of potable water, providing insight into how much water these massive businesses and institutions use. However, they use less total water than you might think — and are completely overshadowed by residential water use.
Here are the top ten water consumers — and the number of gallons used — in San Antonio from June 2021 to June 2022.
H-E-B is consistently ranked in the top ten water consumers in San Antonio. According to SAWS, H-E-B used the most water in June of 2022, consuming 23,191,848 gallons of potable water.
A surprising entry on the top ten water consumers list is TowerJazz. the semiconductor manufacturer in Westover Hills used over 209 million gallons of potable water during this period, beating higher-profile entrants like Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld. The fabrication facility produces 28,000 silicon wafers each month.
Sea World and Fiesta Texas used a substantial amount of water, making the top ten with 209 million and 205 million potable gallons of water used, respectively.
Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.
Look for more coverage in the San Antonio Business Journal on the critical future of water access culminating in a special issue available on Sept. 2.