Sewell Park Conditions After Heavy Rainfall Could Endanger Students

By Allison Randel
News Reporter

Along with class cancellations and delayed bus services on Tuesday, April 11 was the all too familiar sight of Sewell Park underwater.

When heavy rain and thunderstorms hit San Marcos, the intersection of Aquarena Springs and Sessom Drive becomes an unusable and dangerous crossroad. This intersection, arguably the busiest and most widely used one on campus, is also the location of Sewell Park.

Assistant Director of Campus Recreation/Outdoor Recreation John Johnson said, “After a storm like Tuesday’s, it’s advised that students stay out of the river.”

“Streets and the parking lots and fields and hills and all that, the bacteria count goes up,” Johnson said. “It filters out, and things flow through. It’s murky, you can’t see what’s floating beside you. It floods a lot of stuff in: tree limbs and trash and things. If you can’t see that stuff, you’re risking hitting something with your foot or cutting yourself.”

He says that although Sewell Park is a favorite amongst Texas State students, it can be dangerous if people aren’t aware of their surroundings.

“Wednesday we didn’t put any boats on the patio like we normally do because we weren’t encouraging people to rent equipment,” Johnson said.

Although San Marcos received over seven inches of rain, Johnson said students have already been using the Outdoor Rec Center’s paddle boards, canoes and kayaks, and activity should pick up in the upcoming weekends.

Featured image by Madison Tyson.