Local creeks are cluttered with trash after the flood, prompting urgent cleanup efforts by River Aid San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO — From bedding to BBQ pits and shopping carts to smashed couches, after the flood of June 12, local creeks are now littered with debris left behind by raging water.
Because millions of taxpayer dollars have been invested in turning our creeks into recreation areas, with more than 100 miles of hike and bike trails encircling the city, one local non-profit leader says taking out the trash is more important than ever.
“By conservative estimates over a quarter-billion dollars have been invested in this greenway and we need to protect that investment because it doesn’t make sense to build a beautiful home and then use it as a landfill and it certainly doesn’t make sense to use a shared resources that our taxpayer dollars went towards as a cesspool,” Charles Blank of River Aid San Antonio (RASA) said.
Flanked by debris fields that have smashed into concrete support pillars underneath Wurzbach Parkway on Salado Creek, Blank said “In a big flood like this, some areas after the rain look cleaner, but that’s because debris comes in and that litter is being buried straight into our environment, our ecology, and along the way it’s affecting our wildlife so not only our soil health, our water health, our animal health, our mental health, it’s a crisis,”
Blank said cleaning up the mess in a timely manner is more than the city budget can bear.
“There are spots that catch this trash and act as natural choke points that are really inaccessible to our city departments, and it really takes boots on the ground, grassroots effort to get into the brush, get that bulk, and get it out to an accessible point where our partner like Solid Waste can get it to the landfill or the recycler,” Blank said.
It’s important to do the job quickly, Blank said, because if another flood comes, the large scale debris can become like missiles, racing downstream and crashing into infrastructure and damaging sensitive natural features like heritage trees.
Wednesday afternoon Blank was joined by personnel from the city’s Solid Waste department. Together, the group surveyed the area under a raised portion of Wurzbach Parkway just north of Jones Maltsberger Road.
Blank, whose RASA group does frequent volunteer cleanups city-wide, said he is well familiar with the territory.
“This is one of our sites we consider a hotspot site. And what that means is that we can come here once every four months and we’ll pick over 2,500 pounds and that’s thanks a lot to the bulk that’s washing down into this stretch,” Blank said.
While some areas and some trash can be reached and handled by city equipment and workers, Blank said the terrain and the variety of refuse make hand-picking trash a necessity.
“There’s a lot of lightweight Styrofoam, plastic bags, that all take time to remove piece by piece. Every piece has to go out one at a time,” Blank said.
Inviting everyone to participate in the process, Blank said, is a hallmark of RASA’s approach.
“River Aid San Antonio is made up of community members that recognize that this is a shared problem that we all need to get a handle on together and that’s why all those people show up on Saturdays or Tuesdays to come out and clean our waterways together,” Blank said, adding “It it just can’t be done with one city department or two. We need all of San Antonio to be working with us so you can be with us too.”
Blank said no special equipment or training is required.
“When you show up to a River Aid clean up, all you need is a willing attitude, some active clothing, and a reusable water bottle, and we will have all clean up gear required to get it done safe and effectively,” Blank said.
Blank said volunteers often return time after time because the believe in the benefits of community involvement.
“It’s really almost like a social club and once you start coming down and get to know the faces, yes, we’re out here working. We’re working hard. We’re sweating, but people are getting to know each other, they’re getting to know themselves sometimes and it’s a real journey,” Blank said, adding “All it takes is one clean up to be a part of it and you’ll see why you’re gonna stay a part of it.”
River Aid San Antonio (RASA) can be found on Instagram: @riveraid_sa and Facebook and on their own website.