Weather hit parks, trails hard.
Last week's incessant rain and the deluges that followed caused damage to San Antonio's parks, trails and pipes, and city crews are being dispatched to assess the destruction and make repairs.
Saturday marked the end of an eight-day stretch of rainy days in the San Antonio area that caused substantial flooding in parts of Bexar County — especially on San Antonio's West Side. The rain damaged homes, businesses and sewer pipes and led to the opening of a city-run shelter and the temporary closure of some trails, parks and public pools.
From July 3-10, San Antonio International Airport registered 2.69 inches of rain, but other parts of the city were pummeled by 9 to 10 inches of rain within a three-day span. The average rainfall at the airport for that period over the past 30 years is 1.19 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
“It's pretty unusual,” said NWS meteorologist Bob Fogarty. “We had more than double.”
The rain and flash floods hit San Antonio's parks and trails especially hard, knocking down tree limbs, damaging fences and other structures and turning open fields into muddy marshes.
“Several segments of greenway trails and trails in our natural areas have closed due to the rain,” the city's Parks and Recreation Department said in an emailed statement. “Our team is assessing flooded trails, safety, and accessibility.”
A bridge that crosses Leon Creek in the Medina River Natural Area sustained damage and was closed until city crews could make repairs.
At Rodriguez Park, which borders Leon Creek, flood waters knocked down fences, uprooted bollards and small trees, and left sticks and sediment scattered throughout.
Cleanup efforts were underway at the city's parks and trails after Saturday's rain, but officials stressed that the job will take some time to complete.
“We do ask trail and park users to use caution on the trails before and after rain events,” the Parks and Recreation Department said. “Don't cross trails that are under water or closed. Please wait until trails are dry and clear of mud and debris to resume activities. Our team continues to monitor these areas and posts closure updates on our website as they become available.”
The closed trails on Sunday included parts of the Salado Creek Greenway, Apache Creek Greenway and Friedrich Wilderness Park. Olmos Park was temporarily
closed last week due to flooding.
On Saturday, rushing stormwater overwhelmed a 66-inch sewer main in the 6600 block of Swiss Oaks Drive, causing more than 50,000 gallons of diluted
household wastewater to spill near Leon Creek, said Anne Hayden, communications manager at the San Antonio Water System.
SAWS officials said the sewer spill was not expected to negatively impact the area where it happened because the sewage was highly diluted by flood waters.
“This is the second time within the last week that this site has overflowed and we know it's a problem,” Hayden said. “We're working on a really major project which will increase the size and replace a lot of the pipes that are serving this area. As soon as we can get the new lines up and running, we know that these will stop.”
Parts of the SAWS network of sewer lines that are aging and “capacity-constrained” are currently being replaced as part of a multimillion-dollar infrastructure project meant to prevent future sewer spills, SAWS officials said in a news release.
Saturday's sewage spill has been largely cleaned up and much of the flooding in the area had subsided by Sunday, but Hayden said the broken sewer line probably won't be fully repaired until it can be rerouted into the new line that will be built in the area.
SAWS has increased monitoring of its water supply systems and advised people to avoid swimming in affected bodies of water and to wash their hands before preparing and eating food, and after contact with soil, used diapers or animals.
“Help us improve the sewer system performance by disposing of wipes and grease/fats in the trash, and by immediately reporting sewer spills or missing manhole covers at 210-704-SAWS (7297),” SAWS officials said in the news release.