SAWS Category Determinations and Impervious Cover
The San Antonio Water System enforces Aquifer Protection Ordinance No. 81491, also called the Water Quality Ordinance, which sits in Chapter 34 of the City Code under Aquifer Recharge Zone and Watershed Protection. SAWS determines whether recharge-zone property in Bexar County is Category 1, 2 or 3 and issues a letter stating the designation.
SAWS says it is the developer's or owner's responsibility to request the category determination, and that the amount of impervious cover allowed varies with the category. It also warns that missing information can slow the response and may result in a Category 2 or 3 designation. For a developer, the category drives how many lots, how much parking and how much building area a tract can carry, which in turn sets the project value and the builders risk limit.
Because the category affects the site plan, it belongs at the front of the project, before the lender exhibit is finalized and before the builders risk quote is built around a unit count that may change.
How site plan changes ripple through an owner's program is explained in developer insurance and surety planning.
Aquifer Protection Plans and TCEQ Approval
SAWS reviews an Aquifer Protection Plan for Category 2 and 3 properties over the recharge zone and issues an approval letter. Separately, TCEQ regulates construction over parts of the Edwards Aquifer under 30 TAC chapter 213, and its program page says the plan must first be reviewed and approved by TCEQ. Technical review of an administratively complete application takes 90 days. Bexar County is assigned to TCEQ's San Antonio Regional Office for questions.
Two approvals mean two places a schedule can slip. A builders risk policy bound to an early start date may sit idle while plans are in review, or the start may need to move. Contractors scheduled to mobilize after approval may need to hold crews or equipment.
The approvals also create obligations that last. SAWS conducts quarterly inspections of stormwater quality basins over the recharge zone, so the basins built during construction become a long-term maintenance item. The contract should say who builds them, who maintains them before turnover and who answers if an inspection finds a problem.
Grading, basins and utilities are walked through in insurance for site improvement work.
Regional Detention by Fee in Lieu
The City's storm water utility page says developers in most areas may choose on-site detention, off-site mitigation or a regional project funded by a fee in lieu of on-site detention. Paying the fee can remove a pond from builders risk values and a maintenance duty from the contract, but grading runoff remains a contractor exposure.
County bond rules for the same subdivisions are covered in Bexar County warranty bonds and plat guarantees.
Pollution Exposure Over Karst
TCEQ describes how karst features such as caves, fractures, sinking streams and sinkholes carry surface runoff and spills directly into the aquifer. On a recharge-zone site, a ruptured hydraulic line, a fuel spill from a refueling truck or a drilling-fluid loss during utility boring can reach groundwater faster than on most sites.
Many general liability policies include a pollution exclusion, and the exceptions to it are often narrow. Contractors pollution liability is the line built for this exposure, and a project-specific pollution policy can give the owner and every contractor on a single site one set of terms. Whether a given release is included depends on the policy wording, the definition of pollutants and any exclusions for known conditions or fines.
SAWS also runs a program for registering, permitting and inspecting underground storage tanks in the recharge and transition zones. Projects that include fuel stations, fleet yards or backup generator tanks should expect that review and should check how storage tank exposures are handled on the owner's insurance.
Single-site pollution terms for owners and contractors are explained under project-specific pollution policy.
What Utility and Site Contractors Should Check
SAWS lists review of sewage collection system plans for sensitive recharge features on the recharge zone among its duties. For underground utility contractors, that means sewer work over the recharge zone can draw extra design review and field attention. A trench that opens a void or a line that leaks after completion can lead to claims that run well past the job.
Contractors should confirm that their pollution coverage reaches both ongoing and completed work, that horizontal directional drilling is not excluded and that the owner's additional insured request can be met on the forms they carry. Owners should ask for those confirmations before contract award, not at the first certificate request.
Trade-by-trade exposures are laid out under underground utility contractor insurance.
City Right-of-Way Registration, Insurance and Bond
Public Works requires registration in its Right of Way Management system before a permit request, pay a $50 registration or renewal fee and meet its insurance and bond terms: $5 million or more of general liability and umbrella aggregate combined, $1 million auto liability, $1 million workers' compensation and a performance bond of $100,000 for unlimited permits or $10,000 per permit address. Excavation of 50 linear feet or more is submitted at least 30 days ahead, and violations run $750 per day until restored. A $1 million primary policy typically needs an umbrella to reach that total.
How sureties look at these bonds is explained in Texas right-of-way permit bonds.
SAWS Connection Insurance and the One-Year Warranty
Tie-ins to SAWS infrastructure need a SAWS General Contractors Permit first, and SAWS issues no connection permit until a certificate is on file. Its insurance specifications, reviewed November 3, 2023, call for occurrence-form general liability of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate without blasting, explosion, collapse or underground exclusions, $1 million auto and a $2 million umbrella, with SAWS and the City as additional insureds, waivers of subrogation and insurers rated A- VII or better. Contractors also give a one-year warranty after acceptance, so completed-operations terms matter.
Warranty-period claims are discussed under completed operations and subcontractor work.
Bidding the City's Own Construction Contracts
Contractors bidding the city's own capital projects meet a separate set of requirements from development permits: bid security, payment and performance bonds, insurance minimums and endorsements, retainage, warranty and small business program rules, set in the city's contract documents and each solicitation.
Those terms are set out in City of San Antonio construction contract bonds and insurance.
San Antonio Within the Texas Picture
Statewide Texas rules on public-work bonds, liens and construction stormwater permits apply in San Antonio as they do elsewhere. The San Antonio difference is the SAWS ordinance on top of TCEQ's aquifer rules, with category determinations and impervious cover limits that change what a recharge-zone tract can hold.
Austin-area sites face TCEQ's aquifer rules too, but not the SAWS category system. A program written for one city should be reviewed before it is reused in the other.
Statewide licensing, bond and lien rules are summarized under Texas construction insurance and surety.
Before You Ask for a Quote
What to Gather
- SAWS category determination letter for the tract
- SAWS Aquifer Protection Plan approval for Category 2 or 3 property
- TCEQ Edwards Aquifer protection plan status and approval letter
- Site plan showing impervious cover against the category limit
- Plans for any underground storage tanks and the SAWS permit status
- Site and utility contractors' liability and pollution certificates
What to Ask the Insurer or Surety
- Does the contractor's pollution coverage include releases that reach groundwater through karst?
- Is horizontal directional drilling or drilling-fluid loss excluded on any policy?
- Can the builders risk start date follow both the SAWS and TCEQ approvals?
- Would a project-specific pollution policy for the whole site cost less than relying on each contractor?
- How does the owner's program handle underground storage tanks after completion?
- Who maintains the stormwater quality basins before turnover, and whose policy responds to failures?
Quick Answer
On San Antonio's Edwards recharge zone, SAWS assigns a category that sets impervious cover and may require an Aquifer Protection Plan, and TCEQ must approve a protection plan before construction. Pollution coverage and schedule planning follow from both.
Common Mistake
Pricing builders risk and the lender budget on a site plan before the SAWS category is known, then losing units or pad area when the designation limits impervious cover.
Broker Perspective
A broker treats a San Antonio recharge-zone site as a pollution account first: who handles fuel, drilling fluid and tanks. It also checks whether each contractor's pollution terms reach a release into karst.
Coverage Impact
General liability pollution exclusions often limit responses to spills, so a contractors or project-specific pollution policy may be needed. Whether a release is included depends on the pollutant definition, exclusions and any terms for fines or known conditions.
Questions Buyers Ask
Who asks SAWS for the category determination on a recharge-zone tract?
SAWS says it is the developer's or owner's responsibility to request it. The category affects how much impervious cover the site may have, and incomplete information can slow the answer or lead to a Category 2 or 3 designation. Request it early, before the site plan and budget are locked.
Do we need both a SAWS Aquifer Protection Plan and a TCEQ plan in San Antonio?
Often, yes. SAWS reviews Aquifer Protection Plans for Category 2 and 3 property over the recharge zone, and TCEQ separately requires approval of an Edwards Aquifer protection plan before regulated construction. Ask your civil engineer which approvals apply to the tract and plan the schedule around both.
Will our general liability policy respond to a fuel spill that reaches the aquifer?
Maybe not. Many general liability policies carry a pollution exclusion, and exceptions for sudden releases are often narrow. A contractors pollution policy or a project-specific pollution policy is typically written for this exposure. Have a broker compare the pollutant definition and exclusions on each policy against the site's fuel and drilling plans.
Does SAWS keep inspecting a project after construction is finished?
For some features, yes. SAWS says it conducts quarterly inspections of stormwater quality basins over the recharge zone, and it inspects underground storage tanks in the recharge and transition zones. The owner should plan who maintains those features and how a failure after turnover would be handled by its insurance.
Official Sources
- Aquifer Protection and Evaluation, San Antonio Water System. Aquifer Protection Ordinance No. 81491 (City Code ch. 34); Category 1, 2 or 3 determinations on Bexar County recharge-zone property; Aquifer Protection Plan review for Category 2 and 3 property; sewer plan review for recharge features; quarterly basin inspections; UST program in recharge and transition zones. Verified 2026-10-23.
- Category Determination, San Antonio Water System. Developer or owner must request the category determination; allowed impervious cover varies with category; missing information may result in a Category 2 or 3 designation. Verified 2026-10-23.
- Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Plan must be reviewed and approved by TCEQ before regulated construction; 90-day technical review under 30 TAC 213.4(e); Bexar County assigned to the San Antonio Regional Office; karst features carry runoff and spills into the aquifer. Verified 2026-10-23.
- About ROW Management (Right-of-Way Permits), City of San Antonio Public Works Department. RoWM company registration and $50 fee; $5 million general liability and umbrella aggregate combined, $1 million auto and $1 million workers' compensation; $100,000 bond for unlimited permits or $10,000 per permit address; SAWS General Contractors Permit for tie-ins; 30 days for excavation of 50 linear feet or more; $750 per day per violation. Verified 2026-10-27.
- SAWS Contractor / Plumber Insurance Registration and Standard Insurance Specifications (reviewed November 3, 2023), San Antonio Water System. EL $1 million limits; CGL $1 million occurrence and $2 million aggregate with no blasting, explosion, collapse or underground exclusions; $1 million auto; $2 million occurrence umbrella; SAWS and City additional insured and waiver of subrogation; A- VII insurers; certificate on file before a connection permit. Verified 2026-10-27.
- Contractors / Plumbers Insurance Registry, San Antonio Water System. Insurance must be registered with SAWS before a Counter Permit is issued; one-year warranty after installation and SAWS inspection and acceptance. Verified 2026-10-27.
- Storm Water Utility Fee, City of San Antonio Public Works Department. Regional storm water participation requires a fee in lieu of on-site detention; on-site, off-site or regional options at the option of the developer in most areas. Verified 2026-10-27.
Reviewed by the Principal, Gleason Insurance Brokers, LLCUpdated
