San Antonio’s downtown river reveals a muddy mystery of objects as it undergoes maintenance. The cleanup combats invasive species threatening local ecosystems.
SAN ANTONIO — If you love a mystery, the downtown reach of the San Antonio River is the place to be this week.
The river has been drained for maintenance and where the water used to be is a vast, muddy mess of odd objects.
From bicycles to slimy scooters, cell phones, sunglasses and golf balls, the sediment at the bottom of the concrete channel has trapped it all.
The City of San Antonio and the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) work together every other January to inspect the channel’s integrity and make any necessary repairs.
They also work to protect native species, while eliminating harmful invaders.
The area of the river near the Pearl has seen an increase in invasive species in recent years.
Biologists with SARA have been working with volunteers in their River Warrior program to rid the river of Apple Snails.
The palm-sized South American invaders have no known predators in the basin, so they have been reproducing at will and experts say they take over territory that rightfully belongs to native species.
In addition to outpacing natives, biologists say they can damage the riverbed and banks with burrowing behavior.
They say the invasion is easily identified by the eye-popping pink egg sacks that cling to the sides of the river channel.
Another invader is known by many nicknames including Plecos.
Hypostomus plecostomus, also known as the suckermouth or armored catfish, is a native of South America, but their takeover of U.S. waterways is so aggressive, aquatic biologists say they are now considered naturalized.
The work zone for the current cleanup is extensive, starting at Josephine Street on the north end of downtown, all the way to South Alamo Street near Southtown.
Cleanup work is also underway on San Pedro Creek on the western edge of downtown.
While the river is drained there will be no river barge service.
If all goes as planned, everything will be back to normal by next Monday.
To learn more about volunteer opportunities to help protect local rivers, sign up with SARA.
Another massive cleanup effort is fast approaching on March 7.
The 31st annual Basura Bash is hosted by local non-profit River Aid San Antonio.
Basura is the Spanish word for trash, and during this annual event thousands of volunteers turn out to remove tons of debris from not only the San Antonio River, but also many of the tributaries that contribute to the flow.
Event planners say volunteers can form teams or sign up as individuals.