SAN ANTONIO – Residents in a Northwest side neighborhood claim that a poorly maintained drainage system is to blame for the damaging flooding in their area.
The flooding happened during a storm on Thursday, June 12, that led to 13 deaths in other parts of San Antonio.
Water rushed into the Copper Canyon neighborhood, inundating Dhaka View, a street near Grissom Road and Timberhill Drive.
“I’ve never seen it that bad,” said Nora Ciancia, whose home escaped any damage. “The waves were coming so fast.”
Farther down the street, though, neighbors were still dealing with the mess.
“The water came all the way up to my seat. Like, see the water over here,” said Clem Maloy, showing a muddy imprint along the bottom edge of his SUV. “There were three cars parked right behind mine. They had to get towed out.”
Maloy said he’s grateful that despite water seeping into his vehicle, he was still able to drive it.
Next door to him, Tony and Trini Barragan had struggled to keep their entire home dry.
“We opened up the back door, and I started sweeping the water out that way,” Tony Barragan said. “We did the best we could to try to get all the water out.”
While yet another neighbor, Stephanie Garza, managed to keep her home dry, she lost a significant portion of her backyard to floodwaters.
Large metal fenceposts, once anchored in concrete, were scattered around the area after being knocked down and carried away by the forceful floodwaters.
“I’ve lost my foundation here, the ground under my foundation,” Garza said, pointing to additional damage.
Garza said she also lost two cars, which were almost completely submerged.
For many of the other neighbors, the amount and extent of the damage came as a bit of a surprise.
What was not surprising to them was the flooding in the area.
They said it has become commonplace whenever there is a significant downpour.
“This is two times for me, and then my brother lived here. Like I say, he told me it flooded two times before,” Maloy said.
Garza, who has lived in the neighborhood for about two decades, agreed, calling it a “constant problem.”
She said she has made numerous complaints with the City of San Antonio in the past.
However, after this latest round of high water, she has had enough.
Garza now has filed a claim against the city, hoping it might eventually help her put her home and life back together.
KSAT reached out to the City of San Antonio’s Department of Public Works regarding the claims about the drainage system.
A spokesman told KSAT they are working on a response.
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