SAN ANTONIO – Oakland Estates residents met with San Antonio city officials on Wednesday to discuss environmental concerns about an ongoing drainage project that runs through the neighborhood.
Michele Debs, president of the Oakland Estates Neighborhood Association, recalled how the area used to have an abundance of trees.
Now, that vegetation is gone.
“They raised all of it,” Debs said. “They bought these easements and raised all of it.”
>> Community concerns rise over Oakland Estates drainage project plans
Since the start of the “Outfall C” drainage project, the City of San Antonio has announced additional plans, including a 15-foot drainage channel, an underground drainage system and integration with the Outfall C construction.
Residents have voiced their concerns since the new plans were announced in November. Wednesday’s meeting is the second time neighbors have met with the city to get their questions answered.
“They said at the meeting today that they were going to revegetate it, which they have to per regulation, and that they are regrading it,” Debs said. “But until they did that before, all of this water on the top we were getting before. We’ll see if they do it right.”
The project redirects the drainage water from Prue Road through the Oakland Estates neighborhood and into Huebner Creek.
“Everything on Prue Road, we are going to get,” Debs said. “Gas, garbage, anti-freeze, dirt, filth. Everything we didn’t get here before.”
Residents are also worried about how the project will impact the local ecosystem.
“Once you start infiltrating like this, the wildlife starts disappearing,” Debs said. “So, you get owls, hawks, snakes, deer, raccoons, bunnies and it goes on and on. And there is no place to go.”
After Wednesday’s two-hour meeting, Debs said she was grateful for the city taking the time to address neighbors’ questions and believes they have established a good relationship with the city.
“Everyone from the city was great. They are going to give us more answers,” Debs said. “I think that we are still a little trepidatious, but at least now it looks like we have a path. Regardless of what happens, we can get resolutions.”
David McBeth, assistant city engineer with the San Antonio Public Works Department, said the city wants to make sure it is in lockstep with residents.
“We want to be able to satisfy the residents ... providing a good answer to every single question they have,” McBeth said.
According to McBeth, the design phase for the ongoing drainage project is approximately 70% complete. Construction is set to start at the end of 2025 or early 2026.
Anyone with questions about the drainage project that runs into Huebner Creek can contact city liaison Betsy Hove at 210-207-7787 or betsy.hove@sanantonio.gov.
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