From Rain to Drain: Touring the San Antonio Water System

San Antonio annual rainfall cannot support a city of our size, so where does our water come from?  We are situated on the South Texas Plains near the Chihuahuan Desert and at best have a semi-arid climate, putting water at a premium.  We get most of our water from a surprisingly large underground source known as the Edwards Aquifer which has been described as one of the worlds great natural resources, and our city could not exist without it.  I was intrigued enough last fall to join about 40 interested residents, including engineering students from a local university, at the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) Conference Center to spend a day learning the story of our water system.  In my previous post I discussed a new study to quantify how much water our landscape plants really require.  In this post I'll share the fascinating process of how San Antonio water goes from rainfall to our homes and gardens, since it is a unique story.

After an introductory talk from our SAWS guides we were on our way by chartered coach to Stone Oak Park in far north San Antonio for the first stop on our tour and the answer to the first of our questions about the aquifer: how does water get into the underground aquifer?  Our guide invited us to explore Cub Cave in the park to see the first steps in the process.

San Antonio Herb Market

One of my favorite annual garden events is the San Antonio Herb Market held at the Pearl Brewery in mid-October.  It's an excellent opportunity to stock up on herbs and learn about growing and using herbs as well as other gardening subjects.  This year's market was held on Saturday, October 15th celebrating their 20th year.

The Pearl Brewery is near downtown and anchors the north end of the Riverwalk known as the Museum Reach.

The market is set up in the parking lot and is always well attended. 

San Antonio Water System was a sponsor and employees were on hand to answer questions about water conservation.  Other groups included the Bexar County Master Gardeners, The Gardening Volunteers of South Texas and the San Antonio Herb Society.

There were plenty of vendors and a large selection of herbs and related plants.  These containers are ready to go at the Nature's Herb Farm booth.

Long lines for the checkout at Nature's Herb Farm, a good thing to see

This booth  is showing succulents

Colorful succulent wreaths

This large succulent hanging basket display from Burns Nursery
attracted attention

The container display also at Burns was charming

The Antique Rose Emporium had a booth with roses for sale

This year's featured speaker was Susan Belsinger who gave an excellent presentation on using herbs in cooking.  After Susan's seminar I headed over to the adjacent parking lot for the Farmer's Market held each Saturday at the Pearl Brewery.

"Please play on the grass," no lawn here so...

here's the grass you're invited to play on

Pearl has created a park in the parking lot and a favorite place for gardening inspiration.  Ornamental grasses along with drought tolerant perennials are planted in islands within the parking lot and the perimeter.

A look at some of the rows of booths here and a group of Pumpkins on display.

 A very nice day to sit and enjoy the band

 

And a great grouping of ornamental grasses behind the band.  This is one awesome parking lot.  I'll be back on a quieter day for more photos of the Pearl parking lot park and the plantings along this section of the Riverwalk.