Salado Dam 15R

Salado Dam 15R

Completion of Salado Flood Detention Dam 15R in San Antonio’s McAllister Park was celebrated in October, 2004. It was the final in a series of 14 flood control dams along the Salado Creek watershed. The dam can restrain 1.1 billion gallons of water to allow slower release of accumulated rainfall, lessening the potential for erosion and flooding on the city’s East Side.

Martinez 4 & 5 & 6A

In the early 1980s, after several disastrous dam failures throughout the nation, the U.S. Congress commissioned a review of the engineering criteria and required an inspection of all dams nationwide. This review resulted in stricter standards for a dam to be deemed completely “safe”. Several of the floodwater retention dams in the Martinez Creek Watershed Project were ultimately evaluated as being “safe but hydraulically inadequate”. This term means that the dam is structurally sound but the capacity of the emergency spillway will not safely pass 100% of the probable maximum flood (PMF) and the dam will be overtopped. Improvements to the dams are required to upgrade floodwater retention dams to meet current standards.

The San Antonio River Authority (SARA) conducted a comprehensive assessment of all dams in the Martinez Creek Watershed (located in northeast Bexar County ), to determine their condition and level of safety under the stricter standards. The Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) indicated that development upstream, downstream, and around these dams has changed the hydraulics and hydrology impacting the dams, and this would affect the impact to life and property if the dams were to breach. 

The NRCS and SARA identified the Martinez Dam Site 4, Martinez Dam Site 5 and Martinez Dam Site 6A as priority projects in Bexar County and proposed to move forward with Bexar County on the rehabilitation of these dams.  Funding for these projects is supported by the NRCS with local funding from Bexar County through the Flood Tax. SARA serves as the project manager and funds the on-going operations and maintenance of these dams.

Construction to rehabilitate the Martinez Dam Site 5, located in the City of Live Oak in Bexar County , is nearing completion. Design is underway on alternatives to rehabilitate Martinez Dam Site 4 in the City of Converse . The initial project development phase is underway for Martinez Dam Site 6A, located downstream of Martinez Dam Site 4 in the unincorporated section of Bexar County .

Click here for a brochure on the Martinez 5 Dam Rehabilitation Project.

Culebra/Loop 410

The just-completed Culebra/Loop 410 Detention Facility in the Leon Creek Watershed on Southwest Research Institute property in Northwest San Antonio is designed to reduce peak discharges downstream of Loop 410. The project involves a 50-acre detention pond with the storage capacity of 1,100 acre-feet. The project has expanded into cooperatives with the private sector.