San Antonio city officials responded to decades-long flooding at Onesimo Barrera’s home on Rockwell Boulevard after media attention prompted immediate action and a proposed $700,000 drainage improvement project. City staff deployed a pump truck to Barrera’s property Thursday afternoon following KSAT’s inquiry, and Councilmember Edward Mungia announced plans to allocate district funds for permanent infrastructure upgrades, pending budget approval.

Barrera has dealt with recurring flooding in his yard and home for years, caused by a neighbor’s placement of dirt piles that clogged the drainage system. The waterlogged conditions have severely limited mobility for his wife, who uses a wheelchair and cannot navigate the flooded yard to enter or exit their home.

Two pump trucks previously sent by the city made little progress, and Barrera expressed skepticism about Thursday’s effort. “I guarantee you it’s not gonna make a dent,” he said. Jessica Shirley-Saenz, interim assistant director of Public Works, committed to ongoing pumping support, saying, “We’re gonna do our best that after every rain that will be out here to actually pump.” Mungia indicated the city attorney’s office would issue legal notices to the neighbor responsible for obstructing the drainage channel, saying, “The city attorney’s office is going to be sending this person some information, some legal notices. Like, you’re blocking the drainage channel. You’re building over. You’re affecting other properties. That’s, in my mind, that’s a public nuisance.” He plans to use $700,000 from District 4 funds to improve drainage and roadways on Rockwell Boulevard, though the allocation requires approval due to the city’s projected budget deficit.

If approved, the project could begin as early as September or October. Barrera requested that drainage improvements take priority over roadway work, and Shirley-Saenz confirmed the project would start with the drainage system.