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The San Antonio River Walk is home to a delectable selection of bars and restaurants, as well as the city's annual holiday festivals and parades. But what lies underneath the water?
Every two to four years, the San Antonio River is drained for maintenance and cleanup by the city's public works department, the San Antonio River Authority and Center City Development and Operations, according to Texas Monthly. It's not completely drained, though. There's still a foot or two of water left in there for fish and turtles to continue to swim.
Texas Monthly reporter Emily McCullar was on the scene when the river was drained — and she said she found a lot of "weird stuff." Let's see what she found:
"A team of more than 110 staffers pulled out cellphones, Mardi Gras beads, jewelry, and children’s toys. There were a lot of chairs, and plenty of decorative terra-cotta planters, the kind that line the River Walk—and, apparently, periodically plop right into the water. The public works department hauled away several dumpsters’ worth of trash, silt, and debris (they are still calculating the total tonnage)."
Here's what else was found in the San Antonio River:
- Outdoor light fixture
- Folding chairs
- Metal patio chair
- Christmas lights
- Frozen doll of Princess Anna
- Gorilla action figure
When the river was drained in January 2020, officials found laptops, cell phones and a prayer candle.