{"id":243657,"date":"2025-09-21T10:28:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T10:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/243657\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T10:28:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T10:28:15","slug":"can-san-antonios-flood-control-needs-compete-with-marvel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/243657\/","title":{"rendered":"Can San Antonio’s flood control needs compete with Marvel?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As San Antonio copes with its deadliest flood year in more than three decades<\/a>, local leaders eager to move toward solutions are finding the issue in tough competition with flashier development projects.<\/p>\n

Speaking to residents at Lion\u2019s Field Senior Center this month, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones warned that the city\u2019s financial analysts are projecting<\/a> the next infrastructure bond could be much smaller due to slowed economic growth<\/a> \u2014 roughly $500 million compared to the $1.2 billion bond<\/a> the city approved in 2022.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s as city leaders are already counting on a large share<\/a> of that money covering streets, roads and other infrastructure related to the downtown sports and entertainment district known as Project Marvel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be clear-eyed about the changes in our budget, but also the big investments that we as a community want to make together,\u201d Jones said to a room of roughly 200 attendees \u2014 her voice raised to be heard over fans masking a broken HVAC system at the senior center. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe care about infrastructure. We certainly care about the floods. \u2026 We also care about making sure we\u2019re supporting downtown development,\u201d Jones said. \u201cBut what\u2019s the right balance?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 mayoral tenure began just a day<\/a> after San Antonio and Bexar County issued a joint disaster declaration<\/a> seeking state assistance for deadly floods on June 13<\/a> that left 13 people dead on the Northeast side. <\/p>\n

\"\"Newly sworn-in Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones gives her condolences to the families of the victims of the flooding off Perin Beitel and Loop 410. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

As of this week, however, city spokesman Brian Chasnoff said San Antonio hasn\u2019t received any state or federal funding for the recovery efforts. <\/p>\n

The city directed $12.5 million in the fiscal year 2026 budget that council approved Thursday<\/a> for \u201cdebris clearance and emergency repairs\u201d at the three low water crossings<\/a> affected by the June flood.<\/p>\n

Against that backdrop, Jones has been touring local sites that topped the state\u2019s list<\/a> of its most pressing flood control projects \u2014 but which haven\u2019t received state money.<\/p>\n

Special sessions in the Texas Legislature put funding toward disaster relief <\/a>and warning systems<\/a> particularly in the Hill Country after devastating summer floods, but didn\u2019t unlock any additional money for flood control projects. <\/p>\n

\"\"SAFD officials wade into a creek near Perrin Beitel Bridge after severe flooding that swept motorists into the flood water in June. Credit: Blaine Young for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

That\u2019s after Bexar County was skipped over completely in the first round of the state\u2019s Flood Infrastructure Fund<\/a> \u2014 due in part to the region\u2019s already advanced investments in water management studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the state\u2019s flood mitigation plan, San Antonio has 14 projects that would cost us $411 million if we wanted to pay [for it ourselves],\u201d Jones said at the Sept. 4 town hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be thoughtful about, what do we care about?\u201d she added. \u201cBecause, all of a sudden, that $500 million [in bond capacity], goes by real quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bexar County\u2019s pivot to basics<\/p>\n

Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai faces a similar challenge.<\/p>\n

He campaigned for county judge vowing to refocus county spending on more basic needs \u2014 an idea that was only reinvigorated by the Hill Country flooding that left hundreds dead over the Fourth of July weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe review [of Kerr County officials\u2019 flood response<\/a>] has been quite brutal,\u201d\u00a0Sakai said at an Aug. 12 Commissioners Court meeting. \u201cIt has reminded me what my primary job as county judge is, and that\u2019s to protect this county.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Sakai remains adamant about moving away from the sorts of large-scale development projects favored by his predecessor Nelson Wolff, the pivot has been somewhat slow-going.<\/p>\n

Like the city, Bexar County requested money from the state in response to the June flooding, and budgeted<\/a> $22 million for an automated countywide flood gate system<\/a> it hopes the state will eventually pay the county back for.<\/p>\n

\"\"Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai speaks about the federal Westside Creeks Ecosystem Restoration Project in January. Credit: Brenda Baz\u00e1n \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

But at a budget town hall on the West Side last month, residents were more concerned about the infrastructure projects that prevent flooding in the first place, which they said have become less focused on residential needs in recent years.<\/p>\n

Bexar County is solidly in flash-flood alley, and has invested $1 billion in flood control over the past two decades.<\/p>\n

It has a road and flood control line item<\/a> on its portion of residents\u2019 property tax bill, and in 2007, it used that money to fund a 10-year Flood Control Capital Improvement Program<\/a> that included projects across the county.<\/p>\n

More recently, however, the money has gone toward projects with an economic development focus, like the San Pedro Creek Culture Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the budget town hall, Monticello Park Neighborhood Association President Bianca Maldonado asked when the county would again solicit projects for the whole metroplex, noting her neighborhood is in a 100-year floodplain that\u2019s expected to need $80 million in drainage fixes over eight phases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen will the county initiate another regional flood control program?\u201d she asked. \u201c[We need] a plan to improve life safety in my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

While county leaders agreed they need to return to a more county-wide approach, commissioners who\u2019ve struggled to see eye-to-eye on major spending priorities have repeatedly delayed tough conversations<\/a> about their capital budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right, we\u2019ve got to figure out that next round of flood control projects,\u201d Commissioner Justin Rodriguez (Pct. 2) replied to Maldonado. \u201cHopefully that discussion will be coming soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"As the city, county and Spurs move forward on a new downtown arena for the NBA team, Bexar County is also proposing updates to the Frost Bank Center and Freeman Coliseum on the East Side. Credit: Cooper Mock for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Other residents at the August budget meeting wanted Bexar County to use the money it plans<\/a> to put toward a new downtown Spurs arena and East Side rodeo grounds on flood control \u2014 citing a previous venue tax election<\/a> put money toward river projects.<\/p>\n

But Sakai said he had little choice on pursuing the Spurs arena and East Side projects.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s owners had already been working with the city on a plan to end its lease at Frost Bank Center before he took office \u2014 leaving a major county-owned asset at risk of abandonment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first ran for county judge, I had no idea that this would be on my plate,\u201d Sakai said. \u201cOnce we knew that this was going to happen, we immediately had to figure out, how do we protect the county facilities?\u201d<\/p>\n

A slow process<\/p>\n

San Antonio\u2019s list of flood control needs is much longer than just the 14 included on the state\u2019s flood plan. <\/p>\n

Of those, however, four were ranked in the state\u2019s top 100 priorities: Concepcion Creek on the Southwest Side<\/a>, Overbrook and Southwell Road drainage improvement on the Northwest Side and Seeling drainage improvements<\/a> on the West Side.<\/p>\n

At a meeting with residents just after the June flooding, state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) was also peppered with questions about how to make flood infrastructure more of a priority for a state with major budget surpluses in recent years, but seemingly little interest in proactive solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese folks are reactionary lawmakers,\u201d Martinez Fischer said of his fiscally conservative colleagues. \u201cEvery time we bring a scenario to get ahead of something, because we listen to the science, we listen to the experts. \u2026 These folks in the ma\u00f1ana caucus don\u2019t want to [spend the money to] fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"San Antonio flood mitigation projects in the state\u2019s flood plan, divided by state House district. Credit: Courtesy \/ Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ office<\/p>\n

Martinez Fischer said most flood control projects require major advocacy from the residents who want them, and even then, take many years to assemble the funding.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s project list, for example, includes some projects that have already been budgeted for in a bond election, in hopes that the city could leverage a local match for state dollars to fund another phase.<\/p>\n

\u201cI waited tables at my parents\u2019 restaurant off Fredericksburg Road in Five Points, which used to be ground zero for floods in San Antonio,\u201d Martinez Fischer said. \u201cThat neighborhood never gave up, if you go [there] today, it\u2019s got tremendous flood control.\u201d<\/p>\n

To local leaders\u2019 point, however, he suggested the faster solutions are likely to come from closer to home. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, this [summer\u2019s flooding] took everybody by surprise,\u201d he said. \u201cThe difference is I see our state leaders defending, deflecting, shifting the blame, wanting to change the subject \u2026 I see local leaders saying, \u2018We understand, we\u2019re going to move with urgency. We get it.’\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As San Antonio copes with its deadliest flood year in more than three decades, local leaders eager to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":243658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[5229,9734,129886,8580,7452,53773,7202,81094,7203,358,7453,47400,3187,105204,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,8437],"class_list":{"0":"post-243657","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-east-side","10":"tag-flood-control","11":"tag-flooding","12":"tag-gina-ortiz-jones","13":"tag-peter-sakai","14":"tag-san-antonio","15":"tag-san-antonio-river-authority","16":"tag-sanantonio","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-top-story","19":"tag-trey-martinez-fischer","20":"tag-tx","21":"tag-type-daily","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa","28":"tag-west-side"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115241818918423831","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}