ENFORCEMENT

San Antonio City Code ch. 34, art. I, div. 9

in effect

San Antonio City Code § 34-9.1 Granting of enforcement authority to SAWS.

Sec. 34-9.1. - Granting of enforcement authority to SAWS. (a) The president/CEO of SAWS is hereby granted the authority to designate qualified SAWS personnel to enforce this chapter in the manner and to the extent allowed by law. (b) The president/CEO is specifically granted the authority to designate qualified SAWS personnel to file notices of violations of this chapter and to take all necessary actions to file complaints with the municipal prosecutor's office for violations of this chapter. (Ord. No. 80574, § 2, 8-4-94)

San Antonio City Code § 34-9.2 Granting of authority to pursue legal remedies.

Sec. 34-9.2. - Granting of authority to pursue legal remedies. The SAWS legal department is hereby granted the authority to seek legal and/or equitable remedies including the filing of criminal charges for violations of this chapter. The SAWS legal department, as well as the office of the city attorney, are hereby granted the additional authority to exercise all powers allowed under the Texas Water Code, Chapter 7, § 7.351 and § 7.352, which enforcement powers are here authorized to address violation or threat of violation of Chapter 26 of the Texas Water Code or a rule adopted or an order or a permit issued under Chapter 26 of the Texas Water Code by instituting a civil suit (under Subchapter D, General Powers and Duties of the Commission, Texas Water Code §§ 5.101, et. Seq.) in the same manner as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in a district court for injunctive relief or civil penalty or both. The authority here authorized shall survive change in the name of the TECQ and the succession of any agency to the TCEQ. The SAWS legal department shall, for purposes of this chapter, represent the city, by ad through the San Antonio Water System. (Ord. No. 80574, § 2, 8-4-94; Ord. No. 97000, § 2, 1-9-03)

San Antonio City Code § 34-9.3 Authority of city attorney to enforce chapter.

Sec. 34-9.3. - Authority of city attorney to enforce chapter. The granting of the authority set out in section 34-9.2 herein shall in no way diminish the authority and responsibility of the city attorney to enforce Chapter 34 and diligently prosecute violations of this chapter through the municipal prosecutor's office. (Ord. No. 80574, § 2, 6-16-94)

San Antonio City Code § 34-9.4 Utility service lien.

Sec. 34-9.4. - Utility service lien. The SAWS' Board of Trustees and the President/Chief Executive Officer is hereby granted the authority to impose a lien against an owner's property for delinquent municipal utility service bills unless the property is a homestead as protected by the Texas Constitution. The lien shall not apply to service connected in a tenant's name after notice by the property owner to the municipality that the property is rental property or service connected in a tenant's name prior to the effective date of the ordinance imposing the lien. The lien shall be perfected by recording in the real property records of the county where the property is located a notice of lien containing a legal description of the property and the SAWS account number for the delinquent charges. The lien may include penalties, interest, and collection costs. The lien allowed under this section shall be inferior to a bona fide mortgage lien that is recorded before the recording of SAWS lien in the real property records of the county where the property is located but the SAWS lien is superior to all other liens, including previously recorded judgment liens and any liens recorded after its lien. (Ord. No. 2025-05-08-0345, § 3(Exh. B), 5-8-25)

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_ARTIINGE_DIV9ENFetched: 10/27/2026