Preparations Underway for Partial San Antonio River Draining
(COSA News Release) — Beginning Monday, January 13 through Friday, January 17, 2025, a small section of the San Antonio River will be drained as part of the River Walk Maintenance Program, a joint effort between the City of San Antonio’s Center City Development and Operations Department, Public Works Department, and San Antonio River Authority. Draining the river is vital to ensuring it remains a clean and vibrant attraction for residents and visitors.
Crews will focus on maintenance items, so a traditional river cleaning will not occur and a large-scale retrieval of items in the river will not take place as in past years (footage of items retrieved will not be available).
The main channel from Brooklyn Avenue to Houston Street will be fully drained, and crews will partially drain the river from Houston Street to Nueva Street. Additionally, the Museum Reach section from Josephine to Brooklyn will also be partially drained in support of routine maintenance work. The upper segment between I-35 and Josephine will have very little water in the main channel. I-35 south to Brooklyn will retain a few feet of water throughout the week. (See map below.)
The work will not affect the bustling areas of the River Walk loop and Go Rio boat service will continue to operate in the river loop area. There are no planned road closures.
