Volunteer dive groups put together Guadalupe River for summer time guests

KERR COUNTY, Texas – More than 1,000,000 individuals go to Kerr County yearly, and one of many sights is the Guadalupe River.

For the previous 10 months, there’s been a partnership between group members, nonprofits and volunteers to assist clear up the Guadalupe River after the lethal floods on July 4, 2025.

Eric Herr with Search and Summer San Antonio was one of many solely divers within the group.

“We started with our water searches after the floods. I don’t know if I was the first, but I was already a diver, so I was diving after the flood, looking for whatever I could find,” Herr stated.

There are actually 9 dive volunteers as a part of the group looking on their off time.

“It’s so murky. You’re literally feeling around with your hands,” Herr stated. “There’s no visibility. I’m used to diving in the Caribbean, so this was a big change, diving in a river.”

Kerrville Parks and Recreation Director Jay Brimhall says there’s a big give attention to ensuring that high-traffic swimming areas, particularly across the Louise Hayes Park, are cleaned for the summer time crowds of fishermen and swimmers.

“There’s not a lot of public land in Texas. And that makes these public spaces all the more important,” Brimhall stated.

While the town’s park and recreation division has tried to clear the favored swimming holes, Brimhall says it’s vital for households to make use of their finest judgment and put on water sneakers once they swim.

“Rebar, concrete, those sorts of things. And again, I think a lot of those things were deposited by the flood, but we don’t know exactly how they got there, when they got there, but those are the sorts of impediments that we’re trying to remove from the water so that people feel safe in returning to the river,” he stated.

Herr says reaching and clearing all 20 high-traffic areas of swimming would possibly take two years, as there are challenges with manpower.

Until just lately, the groups have been paying every thing out of their very own pockets. Grants and different funds have helped Kerr Together pay dive groups for some gear maintenance and gasoline.

Anyone who’s interested by volunteering with the dive crew can fill out their application. For those that come throughout any hazards on the Guadalupe River, contact 830-257-7300.