The San Antonio Flood of 1998
Olmos Dam
This is not the first time San Antonio has been inundated. Beginning in 1913
the community endured six floods in nine years. In response the city built
Olmos Dam pictured here. Usually it has no water behind it, but as you can
see, water is only a few feet below the the spillway at the far end.
To keep the dam from overflowing, the floodgates had to be opened. This is
from the top of the structure.
The gates had to be opened by hand since electricity had been cut off in that
part of town.
Last updated November 26, 1998