San Bernard group gathers for symbolic dig

By Chris Robinson
The Facts

Published May 14, 2006

Shovels handled most of the dirty work for Saturday afternoon’s symbolic parting of the San Bernard River mouth, but it wasn’t uncommon to see someone frantically scraping away with a plastic bucket.

Rough weather last month stifled the first Friends of the River San Bernard’s “Can You Dig It?” picnic and ceremonial dig-out to connect the river with the Gulf of Mexico, but it was all blue skies with a couple wispy clouds the second time around.

“The whole purpose is to meet everybody, so why not have a symbolic dig to put the word out?” said Jan Edwards, a Friends committee member.

A brisk, 4.3-mile boat ride from a dock at the tip of FM 2918 was needed to reach the event because the area is accessible only by water.

About 200 people and five dogs turned out to dig Saturday. The event mingled beach festivities like swimming, kite-flying and a treasure hunt for kids with the message that the San Bernard river mouth must be unclogged.

“To understand and communicate with the people that live, love and enjoy the San Bernard River. It’s not just the people that live here. It’s weekend people, too,” said Nancy Kanter, a Friends of the River San Bernard committee member. “If you don’t have the river, you’re going to miss that entertainment, that revenue, it’s all bundled into one.”

The group intends to restore the river to its original state. Since a diversion of the Brazos River in 1929, silt that naturally had gone to the Surfside and Quintana beaches has accumulated at the San Bernard’s mouth.

This excess sand has turned the river into a pseudo-lake, causing the San Bernard to flow into the Intracoastal Waterway instead of connecting directly with the Gulf. The resulting stagnation of the river has threatened its marine life and the local economy.

“We’ve gotta get the mouth opened up because we’re gonna lose the habitat of fish and crabs,” said group member Gary Sills.

In October, James Lupo of Manvel was forced to close his San Bernard grocery store and bait shop because of the steep decline in the area’s fishing business.

While Lupo said his own roll of the dice was unfortunate, he warned heavy rains also could put people’s lives in danger. A clogged river mouth would stifle the runoff, possibly flooding areas much farther up the San Bernard.

“When you play with the good lord, you’re playing with a ball of fire,” said Lupo, who helped shuttle people to the event in his 16-foot Allweld boat.

Pat Jakowiak agreed, adding that people along the river all the way to Sealy should be just as concerned.

“This river is dying,” she said. “Heaven help us.”

Politicians pitching sand at the event included Congressman Ron Paul,

R-Surfside Beach, and his Democratic opponent for the November election, Shane Sklar. Democrat Florin Vrazel, who is running for Brazoria County judge, Mary Ruth Rhodenbaugh, Democratic candidate for the Brazoria County Precinct 4 commissioner’s seat, and a representative for her Republican opponent, Shane Pirtle, also were present.

Paul, who wielded a snow shovel, said Congress unfortunately has about 2,000 requests to fund similar projects. But he said he’s tried to keep Congress aware of the situation and is seeking funding as well as Army Corps of Engineers permitting for the project.

Meanwhile, Friends of the River San Bernard received its incorporation papers last week and is in the process of receiving a nonprofit organization title, Kanter said. As a nonprofit, Kanter said the organization could try to garner the $250,000 needed for a Army Corps of Engineers project study on its own.

Based on Saturday’s turnout, Kanter was optimistic about the group’s future.

“I’m very happy we had the participants we had,” she said. “Obviously, this is a community that has bonded for a common goal and, as one of the organizing members, this is all we could hope for was people would rally behind our efforts and support the opening of this. There’s more to come.”

A town hall meeting on the San Bernard River is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Dido’s Restaurant, 2922 CR 519 in Brazoria. Tom Lizardo, Paul’s chief of staff, will host a question-and-answer session on river issues.

For information, visit www.sanbernardriver.com.

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