KERR COUNTY, Texas – More than a million people visit Kerr County every year, and one of the attractions is the Guadalupe River.
For the past 10 months, there’s been a partnership between community members, nonprofits and volunteers to help clean up the Guadalupe River after the deadly floods on July 4, 2025.
Eric Herr with Search and Summer San Antonio was one of the only divers in 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 said.
There are now nine dive volunteers as part of the group searching on their off time.
“It’s so murky. You’re literally feeling around with your hands,” Herr said. “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 significant focus on making sure that high-traffic swimming areas, especially around the Louise Hayes Park, are cleaned for the summer 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 said.
While the city’s park and recreation department has attempted to clear the popular swimming holes, Brimhall says it’s important for families to use their best judgment and wear water shoes when 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 said.
Herr says reaching and clearing all 20 high-traffic areas of swimming might take two years, as there are challenges with manpower.
Until recently, the teams were paying everything out of their own pockets. Grants and other funds have helped Kerr Together pay dive teams for some equipment upkeep and gas.
Anyone who is interested in volunteering with the dive team can fill out their application. For those who come across any hazards on the Guadalupe River, contact 830-257-7300.
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