Dispute resolution.
San Antonio City Code § 34-135.2
in effectSec. 34-135.2. - Dispute resolution.
(a) Request for review. The noncompliance provisions of section 34-135 and of article IV, drought management, water conservation, and reuse are to be administered and executed by SAWS. If a customer believes an enforcement action occurred in error, they may request the review of an enforcement action resulting in a noncompliance charge being applied to the customer's account. The customer must submit the following information in writing to SAWS Conservation within fourteen (14) days of the date of the notice of violation:
(1) Name and address of the customer.
(2) Account number.
(3) Customer's contact information.
(4) Specific provision(s) from which the customer is requesting relief.
(5) Detailed statement as to how the specific provision(s) was misapplied or adversely affects the customer, extenuating circumstances that prevent(ed) compliance, or mitigating efforts made on the part of the customer.
(6) Other pertinent information related to the dispute.
(b) Request for review by president/CEO's designee. A customer may appeal the determination of an enforcement action review performed by conservation staff. If the customer's appeal is denied by conservation staff, the customer may request in writing that a secondary review be performed. The secondary review will be performed by either the president/CEO's designee in SAWS conservation or the VP of conservation's designee. This request must be made within five (5) working days of the customer being provided the results of the enforcement action review. In addition to the items stated in section 34-135.2(a), the request for appeal should include an explanation of the insufficiency of the conservation department's review.
(c) Review by committee. A customer may appeal the determination of an enforcement action review performed by the president's designee in conservation. If the customer's appeal is denied the customer may request in writing that a tertiary review be managed by a review committee which shall be appointed by the board. The request for this review must be made within five (5) working days of the customer being provided the results of the enforcement action review. In addition to the items stated in subsection 34-135.2(a), the request for appeal should include an explanation of the insufficiency of the previous rounds of review. Determinations made by committee review are final.
(d) Items excluded from review. The following are not eligible for review available under this section 34-135:
• Dissatisfaction with a SAWS policy or regulation.
• The noncompliance charge amount or structure as stated in chapter 34 of the San Antonio City Code and approved by city council.
• A customer's inability to pay and/or other billing disputes regarding the amount of the noncompliance fee.
(Ord. No. 2024-06-20-0480, § 1(Exh. A), 6-20-24)
Source: City of San Antonio, City Code, City Charter and Unified Development Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/san_antonio/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH34WASE_ARTIIWASERA_DIV6RACH_S34-135.2DIREFetched: 10/27/2026