Neighbors near Beitel Creek say they face ongoing anxiety and a lack of information nearly a year after a devastating flood claimed 11 lives.
SAN ANTONIO — Gayle Hall said she has been living near Beitel Creek for more than 30 years and she has seen many floods, but she said the aftermath the neighborhood has been living the last eleven months has been harder than so many previous events.
Hall said seeing the place where 11 people were swept to their deaths every day has been emotional.
During the overnight hours last June 12, locally heavy rain overwhelmed the Loop 410 access road just north of Hall’s neighborhood near Perrin Beitel Road.
The resulting storm surge carried people and vehicles to a frightening end.
So when heavy equipment finally showed up in the tattered concrete channel this week to begin temporary repair work, Hall said she and others were glad to see progress, but it seems like the effort is small when compared to the big risk neighbors feel.
“I drive by here every day, and it is very sad to me to know that nothing has been done here,” Hall said, adding that the wait for results doesn’t seem reasonable.
Hall said she doesn’t believe city officials have done an adequate job keeping neighbors informed about the effort to recover from the devastating loss of so many souls.
“We have not been informed,” Hall said, adding that she has seen the impacts of many storm events but nothing quite like this, and it has left many of her friends on edge.
Hall said many of her long-time neighbors can’t rest when the sky opens up. “I still wake up at night, look to see if the water’s up over the curb,” Hall said, adding many feel like they have been cheated out of effective flood control projects over the years.
“I see them putting new sidewalks in in different neighborhoods, but we can’t even get to our neighborhood when it rains,” Hall said.
She said they know from experience that when the water rises, neighbors have to depend on one another for safety.
Hall said, “We have several elderly people in our neighborhood, and we like to call and check on one another, especially the ones on my block. I call and double check on them when the rain comes up.”
Hall said many live in fear.
A statement from the city’s Public Works division says help is at hand and more work is planned on Beitel Creek between Vicar Drive and Loop 410.
The heavy equipment that arrived this week is part of a temporary repair project that will involve sealing damaged or missing concrete wall panels to provide temporary erosion control and prevent further deterioration along a channel that was ripped apart by raging water.
They said $8 million dollars has been allocated in the next city budget cycle toward additional repairs to the channel.
They say work is scheduled to begin in earnest in the early months of 2027, but the design work is already underway.
Another facet of the damage has led to a permanent closure of the Vicar Drive low water crossing east of Perrin Beitel.
Public Works says the bridge, which sustained significant damage, will not be reopened.
Hall said she was not aware that the crossing will not be repaired, and she believes it will be a big surprise to her neighbors.
“I don’t think they’re aware that it’s gone forever. It is used. It was used and it will be a loss to a lot of people,” Hall said.
Public Works said while the work continues, staff are continually monitoring the drainage channel to confirm that it remains functional and there are said to be new flood gauges and warning signs near the Loop 410 access road.