City of San Antonio shares timeline of Beitel Creek maintenance prior to deadly floods

SAN ANTONIO — Crews with the San Antonio Public Works Department inspected and cleaned out culverts along Vicar Drive on June 9, three days before historic flash floods overtook a line of cars in the area, sweeping them into nearby creeks and killing nearly a dozen people. 

That’s according to an email sent to San Antonio leaders by City Manager Erik Walsh on Friday. In it, Walsh shares a brief timeline of Public Works maintenance in the area of Perrin Beitel and Loop 410, where the bodies of 11 people were recovered in the aftermath of the June 12 flooding. Two other victims were found elsewhere in the city. 

In addition to the work done on June 9 – routine work for Public Works to carry out in “areas that are anticipated to experience a high volume of water during a rain event” – city crews also conducted routine mowing in areas of Beitel Creek on both sides of Loop 410 in the last several weeks, according to Walsh’s email. And, in May of last year, crews “repaired damaged concrete paneling along the Beitel Creek drainage channel.” 

It remains to be seen how that routine maintenance may have prevented further loss of life in the June 12 flood, or how it may have played a role in a different way. 

The city hopes to come to those conclusions in the coming weeks, as it prepares to conduct a review of the “contributing factors that caused the loss of life and damage to infrastructure” on the northeast side as well as an area on the southwest side, where more lives were lost near Leon Creek. 

Walsh’s email to Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and the other members of City Council provides a clearer idea of what that review will look through, including:  

• National Weather Service data
• High-water detection data and information on high-water marks
• A timeline of “notification warnings” sent to residents
• Video footage from the areas
• A review of City of San Antonio actions during the weather event

The city has tapped engineering firm Kleinfelder Inc. to assist in the review, which was previously announced as a joint collaboration between the City Attorney’s Office, Public Works, the San Antonio Police Department and the San Antonio Fire Department. According to its website, Kleinfelder, which has an office in the Alamo City, offers “environment assessment and remediation” among its services. 

“Our goal is to understand exactly what happened and ensure our response and mitigation efforts are guided by the facts gathered in the report,” Walsh told city leaders, adding the findings will eventually be made public. 

Meanwhile, he said, the San Antonio River Authority is also conducting a “technical data review” of the flooding event. An initial status report is expected in the next month. 

One council member who will be listening closely when that report is given: District 10’s Marc Whyte, who has advocated for improving San Antonio’s infrastructure. 

“We really just don’t know at this time,” Whyte said about what happened on June 12 that resulted in 13 people killed by floods. “We need a complete investigation so the families can of course have clarity as to what happened. If there is anything we can do better in the future to prevent something like this, we need to know. Because this should never really happen in our city.” 

Walsh’s email said the Beitel Creek area has undergone a trio of drainage projects between 2016 and 2020 as part of bond programs and flood control initiatives. The most recent of those “rebuilt a portion of Perrin Beitel Road to raise the roadway and shape the Beitel Creek Channel from Vicar (Drive) to Quail Creek,” Walsh wrote. 

San Antonio and Bexar County leaders issued a joint disaster declaration in the aftermath of the June 12 floods, which came as the city was experiencing its rainiest day in 12 years. The rain caused tides of rushing water that overwhelmed some parts of town, including Perrin Beitel and Loop 410, where officials say a line of cars were stuck in traffic early in the morning when the wall of water hit them. 

Those killed in the floods range from 28 to 67 years old. They include a U.S. Army firefighter, a young father and a dedicated grandfather who had just celebrated his birthday with loved ones. One victim recovered from the flooded areas remains unidentified by the Bexar County medical examiner. 

In the days after the floods, Whyte and District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez posted a joint social media video taken from the Perrin Beitel area. In it, Whyte argues infrastructure and flood mitigation projects need to be a priority during upcoming annual budget conversations. 

“Now is the time to focus on San Antonio infrastructure,” he told KENS 5 on Monday. “When I look (at) what we should be putting our resources towards, it’s public safety then, No. 2, it’s infrastructure.”

A fourth project currently in the design phase and not expected to be completed until late 2026 will improve low-water crossings and drainage channels in the area of Judson and Lookout roads on the far northeast side. Walsh said that project will ensure the area is able to withstand “a 100-year storm event.”