The 48-Hour SAWS Notification Requirement
Send a copy of your Notice of Intent, or your Construction Site Notice, to stormwaterconstruction@saws.org at least 48 hours before construction-related activities begin on any San Antonio site. It takes two minutes and it is one of the most commonly missed requirements in the region.
Published September 28, 2026. Last reviewed September 28, 2026. Technical review: Jim Price, CISEC, CESSWI. Founder, Stormwater Compliant LLC.
Send a copy of your Notice of Intent, or your Construction Site Notice, to stormwaterconstruction@saws.org at least 48 hours before construction-related activities begin on any San Antonio site. It takes two minutes and it is one of the most commonly missed requirements in the region.
That is the whole requirement. The rest of this page is the edge cases.
Send this now
If you are mobilizing soon, do this before you finish reading.
To: stormwaterconstruction@saws.org
At least: 48 hours before construction-related activities begin
Attach:
- Your Notice of Intent if the site is 5 acres or more, or
- Your signed Construction Site Notice if the site is 1 to under 5 acres
Include in the body:
- Project name
- Physical site address
- Total disturbed acreage
- Anticipated construction start date
- Operator name and a contact with a phone number
Keep: the sent email. It is your evidence that you notified, and the question does come up.
Who it applies to
Any construction site in the San Antonio area subject to TPDES construction stormwater requirements, which means both tiers:
- 1 to under 5 acres, small construction activity. Send the Construction Site Notice.
- 5 acres and up, large construction activity. Send the NOI.
The common misreading is that small sites are exempt because they file nothing with TCEQ. They are not. A small construction site files no NOI with the state and still owes SAWS a copy of its Construction Site Notice.
The requirement flows from the City of San Antonio construction stormwater ordinance 2014-06-19-0472, under which SAWS enforces TPDES requirements locally as a co-permittee with the City and TxDOT. More in the SAWS construction stormwater ordinance.
When the clock starts
The deadline runs from construction-related activities, not from vertical construction.
That includes clearing and grubbing, grading, installing controls, bringing equipment onto the site, and establishing the construction entrance. If a machine is disturbing soil, activities have begun.
So a crew arriving Monday morning to install perimeter controls means the notification was due by Saturday morning at the latest. Not Monday afternoon once the office opens.
Two practical consequences:
Do not treat this as a mobilization-day task. It has to precede mobilization by two days.
Send it early rather than exactly on time. There is no penalty for notifying a week ahead. Build it into the same block of work as filing the NOI and you will never miss it.
What this does not replace
The notification is one item among several. It satisfies none of the others.
| Still required | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Notice of Intent, 5+ acres | TCEQ, electronically through STEERS, before construction begins |
| Construction Site Notice posted on site | Posted at the site, readable from outside, at least 2 days ahead for small construction |
| TPDES permit posted on site | Posted at the site, per the SAWS ordinance |
| Copy of the notice to the MS4 operator | Per the state permit, with operators listed in the SWP3 |
| SWP3 developed and implemented | Kept on site |
| Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan approved | TCEQ, and construction cannot commence until approved |
That last row is the expensive one. Under Part II.C.5 of the state construction permit, construction may not commence at a site regulated under 30 TAC Chapter 213 until TCEQ has approved your WPAP or CZP. Emailing SAWS does nothing for that, and the aquifer review can take up to 120 days. See Edwards Aquifer Protection Plans: WPAP and CZP basics.
Why it gets missed
Three reasons, all avoidable.
It is not in the state permit. Contractors read TXR150000, build a compliance checklist from it, and the checklist is complete as far as the state is concerned. The SAWS notification is a local ordinance requirement that never appears in the document they read.
Out-of-market crews do not expect it. Houston, Austin, and Dallas do not have this. A contractor who has run fifty compliant Texas jobs can arrive in San Antonio and miss it on the first one.
It looks too small to matter. A two-minute email does not feel like a permit condition, so it slips behind things that feel weightier. Then an inspector asks whether SAWS was notified, and there is no answer.
The fix is mechanical: put it on the same checklist as the NOI filing, and send it when you file. If you have us prepare the SWPPP, we send it as part of the package and give you the confirmation for your binder.
We send it with every plan
If we prepare your SWPPP, the SAWS notification goes out as part of the package, along with the NOI filing, the site notice ready to post, and the MS4 copy. You get the confirmations for the field binder.
Request a quote or call (210) 776-6515. See our SWPPP services, or the full local picture in San Antonio, Bexar County, and Edwards Aquifer stormwater rules.
Sources
Common questions
- What is the SAWS 48-hour notification?
- A copy of your NOI or Construction Site Notice sent to stormwaterconstruction@saws.org at least 48 hours before construction-related activities begin on a San Antonio site.
- Does this apply to sites under 5 acres?
- Yes. Small construction sites send their Construction Site Notice, even though they file no NOI with TCEQ.
- What counts as construction-related activities?
- Clearing, grubbing, grading, installing controls, and moving equipment onto the site. Not just vertical construction.
- What if I already started?
- Send it now. Late is better than never, and having sent it puts you in a materially better position than having no record at all.
- Does this replace the NOI?
- No. The NOI goes to TCEQ through STEERS. This is a separate copy to SAWS.
- Do I need to send anything else to SAWS?
- Not routinely at start-up. SAWS also inspects, and over the Recharge Zone within COSA jurisdiction inspects quarterly to verify WPAP compliance.
- Can I send it early?
- Yes, and you should.
The work behind this article
- Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)
A San Antonio SWPPP company that writes the plan, files the NOI, and walks the binder with your superintendent. Site-specific to your grading plan, written to TXR150000, not a template with somebody else's logo taken off.
- Stormwater Inspection Services
CISEC and CESSWI inspectors, on your site every seven days while the job is live and on your MS4's schedule once it is not. One inspector, one tablet, forty checkpoints, and the report before the truck leaves the property.
- Post-Construction Stormwater
An annual program that keeps your basins, vaults, and conveyance systems documented, inspected, and in regulatory good standing.
Need help with stormwater compliance on a San Antonio property? We do site walks at no charge.
Request a fixed-price quoteMore field notes from the watershed.
Compliance · 11 minSan Antonio, Bexar County, and Edwards Aquifer Stormwater Rules
A San Antonio construction site can sit under five separate stormwater authorities at once: TCEQ for the state permit, TCEQ's Edwards Aquifer Protection Program for the aquifer overlay, SAWS and the City of San Antonio inside city limits, and Bexar County Public Works in the unincorporated area
Compliance · 7 minThe SAWS Construction Stormwater Ordinance (2014-06-19-0472)
San Antonio Water System enforces construction stormwater requirements locally as an MS4 co-permittee with the City of San Antonio and TxDOT, under ordinance 2014-06-19-0472, approved by City Council on June 19, 2014. The ordinance requires a certified SWPPP, the TPDES permit posted on site, and
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