The federal government purchased it last year for $66 million, according to county records.<\/p>\n
Jones said the city has not received basic information it needs to understand the project\u2019s potential effects on the surrounding community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been very disappointing to not have a basic level of transparency with our federal counterparts on this issue,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
Jones exchanged letters with Acting ICE Director David Venturella earlier this summer, asking for access to design plans and a role in the process. She said the city has not received a response to those requests.<\/p>\n
\u201cICE will also collaborate with the vendor, city authorities, and utility service providers to review design plans and proposed engineering solutions,” Venturella wrote in his letter. “ICE encourages community stakeholders to raise any concerns during forthcoming discussions to facilitate timely resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"P-](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/543ed76c-c528-4c54-8e77-58f9bc970835-PICEBUYSSAWAREHOUSE.transfer_frame_0.jpeg\"){kind=spacer}
<\/p>\n
P- ICE BUYS SA WAREHOUSE.transfer_frame_0.jpeg<\/p>\n
SAWS: Existing lines are in place, but on-site upgrades likely needed<\/p>\n
San Antonio Water System said the warehouse is already within its service area and has existing water and sewer lines.<\/p>\n
The property was originally platted in January 2022 and acquired by the Department of Homeland Security in February 2026, according to SAWS.<\/p>\n
A DHS representative contacted SAWS in February to transfer the site\u2019s existing billing account. SAWS said DHS understood that service would need to increase and was informed of the utility service agreement and permitting processes required for that change.<\/p>\n
Since then, SAWS said it has not received a service application, occupancy estimate, engineering plans, or other specific details about the facility.<\/p>\n
SAWS expects increased use at the site but cannot yet estimate its water or wastewater demand. The utility said it does not currently expect off-site water or sewer improvements to be necessary but expects the property\u2019s private water connections will need to be upgraded to handle the added demand. The property owner, DHS, would be responsible for those on-site upgrades, along with a utility service agreement.<\/p>\n
SAWS is expected to present information about the project to the City Council\u2019s Governance Committee next week.<\/p>\n
CPS Energy tells us it has an obligation to provide electricity to any home or business that requests a connection within its service territory. <\/p>\n
“Due to policies and regulations, CPS Energy cannot disclose specific customer information,” a spokesperson told us.<\/p>\n
Arizona project offers a look at potential water demands<\/p>\n
A similar project in Surprise, Arizona, offers an example of the kind of utility planning that could be required for a large processing facility.<\/p>\n
GardaWorld Federal, the contractor working on the San Antonio project, is also renovating a warehouse in Surprise. A Sept. 2 evaluation released by the City of Surprise analyzed water and wastewater demands provided for that facility.<\/p>\n
The report said the Arizona facility projected an average water demand of 190,000 gallons a day and a maximum-day demand of 380,000 gallons. The city found that added demand would require a new groundwater well sooner than planned, along with expanded water-treatment capacity.<\/p>\n
![\"Another](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a40b2cd6-a108-40b8-9f96-62efa47ef4bc-1_04PITEAMICEFACILITYCONCERNS0913_10PMWOAISATURDAY.png\")
<\/p>\n
Another ICE facility is proposed in Surprise, Ariz., and has the same contractor hired for San Antonio (SBG)<\/p>\n
According to the report, DHS would be required to pay for the following things at the Surprise facility:<\/p>\n
$6.12 million for a new well and associated improvements$921,008 for additional water-treatment capacity$839,600 toward wastewater-treatment capacity<\/p>\n
Those figures are not a projection for San Antonio, but they illustrate why San Antonio leaders want more information about the facility\u2019s expected water and power needs before it opens.<\/p>\n
Surprise Mayor Kevin Sartor said in a press conference earlier this year that DHS agreed to share site plans and engineering drawings with the city, host facility tours for city leadership, and create a community relations board with city-appointed representatives.<\/p>\n
A delegation from Surprise went on a federal advocacy trip to learn more about plans for the center.<\/p>\n
The proposed ICE facility in Surprise is currently paused under an agreement between the state and federal government, according to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.<\/p>\n
Brent Peak, a Phoenix resident, says there have been several protests raising concerns about the facility. He is the co-chair of Northwest Valley Indivisible, a group Peak says was active in the No Kings movement and is now also advocating against the proposed ICE facility.<\/p>\n
He says the project\u2019s expected opening date has already changed, from May to the fall. As the pause continues, he views each day the facility remains unopened as a victory for opponents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey basically can\u2019t do anything to prepare for detention or to detain,\u201d Peak said. \u201cEvery day it\u2019s not open is a win for us.”<\/p>\n
Jones said San Antonio has limited practical options to compel a similar pause from the federal government.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have just a ton of options kind of practically at this point,\u201d Jones said. \u201cContinuing to ask questions, continuing to ensure that we have as much transparency as we balance public safety and public trust and transparency here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporters of the facility point to potential jobs in the San Antonio area. GardaWorld\u2019s website shows it is hiring for security positions at the site.<\/p>\n
Jones, however, said too many questions remain about what the project will mean for the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese things do more harm for our community than good,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014 A warehouse being renovated to become an ICE processing facility could require expanded water service…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-435265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}