Part of park closes to keep people from swimming

A small segment of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park shut down Friday so workers can redesign a channel on the north end to stop people from swimming there.

Since the park opened May 5, visitors — especially children — have been swimming in the 2-foot-deep channel, which was supposed to be for wading only. Warning signs were added, to little avail.

The Plaza de Fundación is now closed while design and construction teams make the channel shallower.

Suzanne Scott, general manager of the San Antonio River Authority, did not know how long the area would remain off-limits. She said the river authority is working with its contractors “to get the work done as quickly as possible.”

“When we designed it initially, we designed it for wading,” Scott said. “We’re seeing the enticement for swimming and people submerging themselves.”

In the meantime, the waterfall over the “Rain from the Heavens” art installation will continue to run, though “all other water features in the Plaza de Fundación will be off during construction,” according to a news release.

Workers had already planned to make some minor changes in various places, called “punch list items,” that Scott described as “smaller, final touches” to the park. That could include readjusting a bit of stone, for instance.

In the park’s first couple of weeks, some have expressed concern over water quality because rainfall can leave contaminants in the water for days. Officials in particular want to prevent guests from ingesting E. coli bacteria, which is more likely to happen when people swim in the water.

Scott said the creek water has improved after an early large rainfall.

“The water quality testing went through every loop and had just one big spike,” she said. “But now the water quality is good. We don’t have a concern about that.”

Changes like this aren’t unusual for large construction projects, Scott said, recalling when the river authority had to retrofit canoe chutes on the Mission Reach.

“We’re adapting to the way the public is using the project,” she said.

Photos by Tom Reel / San Antonio Express-News Kids play on stepping stones in the water at San Pedro Creek Culture Park on May 5, the day a half-mile segment opened. Possible contaminants make the water unsafe for swimming.

Ally Brewer splashes with a puppy in the waters of the newly created San Pedro Springs Culture Park on May 8.