Mayor Ron Nirenberg Directs $60 Million for Edwards Aquifer Conservation and Creekway Trails

SAN ANTONIO — Mayor Ron Nirenberg and the San Antonio City Council voted unanimously on Monday to approve a $60 million municipal funding allocation from the city's sales-tax-funded Edwards Aquifer Protection Program (EAPP) to purchase permanent conservation easements protecting 12,000 acres of sensitive karst recharge zone across northern Bexar, Medina, and Uvalde counties.

The transaction permanently bars commercial development, asphalt paving, and dense subdivision over porous limestone caves, sinkholes, and fractures that channel rainfall directly into the Edwards Aquifer, the primary source of drinking water for more than 2 million residents across Greater San Antonio.

Protecting the Source of Drinking Water for 2 Million Texans San Antonio is one of the largest metropolitan regions in the United States reliant on a single groundwater aquifer. Preserving undeveloped open ranchlands over the recharge zone prevents petroleum and pesticide runoff from contaminating the pristine subterranean aquifer.

"The Edwards Aquifer is San Antonio's lifeblood, and preserving it has been the defining environmental commitment of our community for over two decades," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at Eisenhower Park on the city's North Side. "Through this $60 million investment, we are protecting another 12,000 acres of vital recharge land in perpetuity, bringing total preserved watershed lands to over 185,000 acres while expanding our world-class greenway trail system for San Antonio families to enjoy."

Conservation Acquisitions and Greenway Park Extensions The $60 million allocation includes:

• 12,000-Acre Karst Conservation Easements: Extinguishing development rights over multi-generational ranchlands buffering the Medina and Frio River headwaters.
• Howard W. Peak Greenway Trail Network: $15 million dedicated to construct 14 miles of paved multi-use hiking and biking trails connecting Leon Creek Greenway with Salado Creek Greenway.
• Groundwater Telemetry & Dye-Tracing: $5 million in partnership with the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) to install real-time water quality sensors inside karst recharge sinkholes.

Environmental conservation groups, San Antonio Water System (SAWS) trustees, and outdoor recreation advocates commended the municipal council action, emphasizing that aquifer protection ensures clean, low-cost drinking water without requiring expensive desalination plants.