Letter to the Editor: Many People I Talk With Feel Capes Dam Should Be Repaired

Recently I watched a program on the city of San Antonio regarding a devastating flood in 1921, the city was going to fill in the river.

Fortunately, a brilliant architect stepped in and design flood control for the downtown. The result is the San Antonio River Walk, one of their greatest assets.

While so many cities utilize their river for people to enjoy, San Marcos has started doing the opposite. At least 50% of our river access is now fenced off in our public parks from the last three years.

They are now considering destroying a safe environment for citizens to recreate on the east side of I-35 above Capes Dam and in Stokes Park.

Seeing the Sand and Gravel permit to remove Cape’s Dam and stop water from entering the Mill Race, plus the many comments I have heard made me ask some basic questions.

I contacted Rodney Cobb to ask how many bids the city has obtained to repair the dam. He explained there has not been a request to obtain bids to repair the dam.

Furthermore, I learned for the past several years Rodney had the foresight to set aside a $1 million to address Capes Dam.

Keep in mind that the removal of Capes Dam is not free. There are many expenses that would develop due to the drastic changes that would occur to our river.

If we destroy our historical area that is “eligible” on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985, we would be erasing, the beginning of our San Marcos history.

This area was the site of the first industrial activity in Hays County and should be preserved.

This drastic change to our river could create an ecological disaster, increase flooding by destroying and filling the left channel of the river an making it less safe for recreational users. 

If we force people to use only the right channel we are putting them on the side that has substantially faster water going around Thompson Island.

The Mill Race is also the only accessible point for the disabled. All of these things could have a negative impact on our economic development as well.

There is substantially more support to preserve Capes Dam and the Mill Race.

I personally found that out of the 220 signatures I acquired for the petition to save the dam only two people did not want to sign. 

Let us learn from the experience of other cities such as San Antonio. They preserve their assets and historical areas before destroying them.

I saw this awareness emerging in the city council meeting I attended. The rewards could be many for the present generation and those to come.

After the recent flood we experienced on Sept. 26, 2016 Capes Dam breach became worse.

The water depth has already dropped affecting the amount of water going in the Left Channel causing it to become stagnant and not very appeasing to look at in Stokes Park.

Carol Cape Overall                                        Life long San Marcos Resident