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Despite a major drought, the city reported that the San Antonio River has been flowing as usual through the famous River Walk, one of the top tourist attractions in the state.
Fifteen miles of the river passes through the city and River Walk, underneath 50 bridges. The water that flows by River Walk hotels, bars, and restaurants and transports tourist barges is not from any recent rains. Public works officials say it's mostly San Antonio's recycled water.
The San Antonio Water System or SAWS reports during most of the year, almost all of the flow in the River Walk comes from San Antonio Water System’s recycled water centers, which clean up the city’s sewer water and make if reusable for river flows, commercial landscaping, and manufacturing. It is largely a self-sustaining system not pulling potable water from other sources.
SAWS, the city’s water and wastewater provider, flows about 120 million gallons per day to the river in total.
The San Antonio River originates in a group of springs about four miles north of downtown San Antonio, and Olmos Creek empties into the river a little further to the south. Other springs continue to join the river within the city. From San Antonio, the river flows southeast through Wilson, Karnes, and Goliad counties before it joins the Guadalupe River at the intersection of Calhoun, Refugio, and Victoria counties, according to the Handbook of Texas.
But during severe drought, like currently, spring flow stops, and the downtown River Walk would be dry.
Statements from the San Antonio River Authority and Texas Water Development Board contrast river conditions around the city with those further downstream.
"As of this (Tuesday) afternoon, the river at Blue Star is flowing at 30 cubic feet per second, and a little further downstream at Mitchell Street it’s flowing at 17.3 cubic feet per second. Both of those values are completely normal for this time of year," the river authority said in the statement about river flow through the city.
Much further downstream from the city at the US Geological Survey gauge in Falls City, July 2023 flows were just 15 percent of the average of all July flows since 1970, according to a statement from the Texas Water Development Board.
