So far this year we’ve shared a few major developments happening in the Alamo City (Think: from new additions to Hemisfair to the DeLorean setting up headquarters in SA). Well, there’s also another project happening right under our feet — literally — that you may have not even known about.

A 142-inch Tunnel Boring machine at work. | Photo provided by SAWS

With depths reaching 150 feet, the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is rebuilding aging sewer infrastructure from Hwy. 90 to S.W. Military Dr. The W-6 Sewer Project will replace five miles of a 60-year-old sewage pipeline that runs through Lackland Air Force Base. This massive project is set to support the city for at least the next 100 years + is expected to be completed in 2023.
Here are some extra details about the W-6 Sewer Project:

The development will replace 19,000 feet of a 54-inch sewer mainline using a 60-inch and 104-inch new pipeline made out of fiberglass and a material called polymer concrete that is resistant to corrosion.
In order to replace the pipe, SAWS constructed tunnels in four different segments using a boring machine (picture above).
The green line (picture in the map) highlights the completion of the tunnel and the placement of the pipe near Hwy. 90.
The line serves 700,000+ people from the Northwest to the Westside and down to the Southwest portion of town.
90 percent of the total sewer flow from this project will make its way to the Leon Creek Water Recycling Center. According to the experts at SAWS, the line passes an average flow of 50 million gallons of sewage a day. Picture: a gallon milk bottle in a refrigerator multiplied by 50 million.

A map of the W-6 Project. | Photo provided by SAWS

To learn more about the W-6 Project and to keep updated with future SAWS developments, you can visit their website.