Visitors out for a downtown stroll in San Antonio this week will wonder why the city prides itself on the River Walk. Instead of the meandering water, swimming ducks, and moonlight reflections of the San Antonio River, they’ll be gazing upon concrete, beer and soda cans, wine bottles, beaded Mardi Gras necklaces, and other trash that has collected at the bottom of the channel.
The City of San Antonio began draining the downtown and Museum Reach sections to improve water quality and perform maintenance repairs on Sunday at 11 p.m. By Monday morning, only a trickle of water remained.
It’s probably the citywide equivalent of a guest looking underneath your couch. A bit embarrassing, because you’re never quite sure what they might find – what fell under there during the last New Year’s Eve party?
Workers sloshed through the muddy water to pick up trash, backhoes scrapped up excess sediment into dump trucks, and River Walk property owners performed maintenance on areas that are normally submerged.
At the Briscoe Western Art Museum, maintenance worker Gene Ramos took the opportunity to access a pipe that the museum uses to divert water from the river to a nearby fountain.
Two people walked along the path and said they were scavenging for lost Rolex watches and other items of value. The declined to give their names. By 8:30 a.m. they had not found anything special, but they continued down the path, still hopeful.
The maintenance and repairs will be completed next weekend and City officials said the River Walk should be filled with water again to return to is former glory on Monday, Jan. 9. The San Antonio River is usually drained every odd year, however this year due to a higher amount of debris, the river needed draining once more.
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It’s fascinating to see. I’m not sure why, but it is. I was going to take some photos while walking yesterday but saw Scott out there so figured I’d wait for the RR version.
I am pretty sure I would just go to look for lost Fiesta Medals! ha!
I really thought that the throwing of beads (at Mardi Gras and other parades) had been banned. I probably saw close to 30 different strands littering the bottom of the river within a 200 foot area. Apart from trashing up the river, they can’t be good for local wildlife…
From Paris, where they drained the canals: http://www.lesinrocks.com/2016/01/news/scooter-arme-a-feu/
I used to work along the Riverwalk. When they drained it, they’d find the wildest things.
Did they find Austin’s phone? Keri Martin Justus
anybody see a couple of disc golf drivers?