Shavano Park officials eye potential drainage projects

Chris Otto, geographic discipline leader for Colliers Engineering and Design—the city’s consulting engineering firm—briefed City Council on a plan to proceed with designing drainage upgrades in the Elm Spring and Turkey Creek areas.

Otto said that in 2020, the city’s engineers completed a preliminary engineering report for three remaining large, known drainage problem areas—the Turkey Creek/Honey Bee neighborhood, along Elm Spring Road and in the De Zavala/Ripple Creek area.

The city is set to use locally-leveraged federal funds to improve drainage in the De Zavala/Ripple Creek area beginning in late 2024 or early 2025.

According to Otto, city engineers in 2020 came up with a total $4.3 million cost estimate to fix the Turkey Creek and Elm Spring storm sewers. This price tag, local officials said, remains beyond money available in the city’s reserves.

City officials said they had submitted both proposed projects for consideration of potential funding from the Texas Water Development Board.

But they warned that any approved funding may cover only a fraction of any updated costs because of Shavano Park’s high average median household income, a determinant in funding.

Next steps

Otto and City Manager Bill Hill said city leaders will continue discussing how best to advance the two proposed drainage projects.