Residents eager for solution to flooding on Encino Park street

SAN ANTONIO – When it rains in Encino Park, Bradley Jonietz said problems pour.

“It’s any heavy rain,” Jonietz said. “It’s always doing this. We need a solution to the problem.”

Drainage is a problem for dozens of neighbors in this far North Side community because of the Sienna Basin.

Residents have been dealing with the issue for more than six years, but now, city crews are constructing a solution for homes on Encino Crown and Encino Summit.

But Jonietz lives on Encino Cliff.

“For some reason, our street got left off,” Jonietz said.

The city said Sienna Basin is divided into two projects: north and south. Only the Southern Basin is being worked on now, and Encino Cliff is outside that project’s boundaries.

“We’re making progress,” said Victoria Escobedo, an engineering programs manager with Public Works. “The Northern Basin has been investigated, and we have an unfunded project.”

How the Northern Basin will be funded is currently unknown, and there is no timeline for completion. District 9 Councilman John Courage said he’s looking at demand.

“What was your response as to why the Northern basin wasn’t included in this project?” KSAT reporter Avery Everett asked.

“I never knew all those details,” Courage said. “I don’t think I had heard a public outcry about funding concerns about that.”

This is a statement Jonietz said shocked him.

“That amazes me,” Jonietz said. “We were part of all the same outcry. If it’s going to rely on outcry, then we’re willing to come back and start crying out again.”

Jonietz said his family met with representatives in the District 9 office multiple times. Neighbors who spearheaded efforts to find a solution, like Andy Parada, confirmed to KSAT that Encino Cliff was always part of their community plan.

The entire Sienna Basin used to be a Longhorn ranch. But then, construction started for a housing development built by Meritage Homes and engineered by Pape-Dawson. Neighbors said as the land was cleared, flooding in the surrounding community began to pick up in 2018.

In an emailed statement, Jeremy Flach, the Meritage Homes Division President of San Antonio, said their company is “committed to corporate and environmental stewardship.”

“Meritage completed the Sienna community based on approved third-party engineering designs and is confident that the development and construction work was carried out in accordance with applicable engineering and industry standards,” Flach said.

As of Tuesday night, KSAT still has not heard back from Pape-Dawson.