Martinez Creek will get more trees and stream features through the San Antonio River Authority's Westside Creeks Restoration Project.
Martinez Creek will receive the same ecosystem improvements as three other waterways in the San Antonio River Authority ’s Westside Creeks Restoration Project , following a recent federal authorization. The creek runs for almost three miles from Interstate 10 and Hildebrand Avenue to Perez Street .
It’s one of four creeks the river authority plans to restore to more natural systems after they were turned into concrete channels for flood control about 70 years ago. The project is intended to improve water quality, return natural habitats to the creek, maintain flood mitigation and increase outdoor recreation activities on the city’s West Side. READ MORE: After 11 years and $1 billion, SAWS says sewer system is better than ever Previously, the federal government had approved full ecosystem restoration for San Pedro, Alazan and Apache creeks, but Martinez Creek was approved only for partial restoration because of utility conflicts there. “There was a lot of infrastructure, especially wastewater utility infrastructure, that was in the creek, that would have prevented doing full eco-restoration of Martinez,” San Antonio River Authority board chairman Jim Campbell said. The San Antonio Water System removed some of that infrastructure during its city-wide sewer system rehabilitation program, clearing the way for the river authority to seek permission for the full restoration. The change was included in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, a piece of recurring legislation that authorizes U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed the bill in December, and President Joe Biden signed it into law last weekend. Brian Mast, the river authority’s deputy director of government affairs, said the full restoration will allow for better aquatic and avian habitat in Martinez Creek when the work is completed. “The plan, as it was, would have scraped the non-native grasses and wildflowers and just simply planted native grasses and wildflowers,” Mast said. “There would have been no channel work.” Now, the creek will receive the same changes that create a channel with features more like a natural stream, causing water to move at different speeds, creating a variety of habitats for aquatic life. The partial restoration also wouldn’t have allowed for trees to be planted, Mast said. Full restoration will include planting native trees similar to those planted along the Mission Reach section of the river, including live oaks, cypress and pecan trees. READ MORE: ‘What’s the motive? ’ West Side residents worry creeks restoration project will push them out “Restoration of the Westside Creeks will have a broad and powerful impact on our city and our community,” U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said at a Friday news conference announcing the approval. “At the core, this project will hep us rectify previous damage to the ecosystem by returning these creeks to their natural states while maintaining the present level of flood mitigation protection.” The change will lengthen the project because design changes will need to be made and there will be additional work, Mast said. The first phase of construction is expected to start in early 2026, he said. Work will start first on Apache and San Pedro Creeks, the two southernmost creeks in the system. Martinez and Alazan will follow in the second phase because the downstream creeks need to be completed before the upstream creeks, which feed into them, are modified. The full project has an estimated completion date of 2031, Mast said. Adding improvements to Martinez Creek will also raise the total cost of the project — which the river authority still doesn’t have a full estimate for yet. Typically, Army Corps projects require local governments to cover about 35% of the cost, while federal funding covers the remaining 65%, Mast said. In 2022, the federal government approved $75 million for the federal share, but that amount was based on pre-pandemic cost estimates, he said. With the rising costs since then, as well as additional work on Martinez, “we will need additional federal funding,” he said. READ MORE: How ditching an old dam could boost San Antonio River wildlife U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, who sits on the House Committee on Appropriations, said San Antonio’s federal delegation will continue working toward that funding. “In appropriations, we’ll make sure that we fight for that funding on it,” he said. Bexar County is the local funding partner for the project and committed to completing the effort, Mast said. The county has included funding for the project in its 10-year capital improvement plan, the river authority said. County Judge Peter Sakai said the creek restoration can be another “game-changing event,” like the $384 million Mission Reach restoration project on the South Side that the county also helped fund. “As the citizens of the West Side would say, it’s about damn time,” Sakai said. “Or as they would say truly in the West Side, dale gas, let’s go, let’s get this thing going.”
San Antonio Water System U.S. Senate House Of Representatives U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers House Committee On Appropriations Army Corps Brian Mast Henry Cuellar Martinez Jim Campbell Joe Biden Joaquin Castro Peter Sakai Martinez Creek West Side Perez Street Hildebrand Avenue Interstate 10 Alazan U.S. San Pedro San Antonio River Bexar County San Antonio South Side Restoration Of The Westside Creeks Westside Creeks Restoration Project Mission Reach Apache San Pedro Creeks Water Resources Development Act
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