A volunteer-led effort has removed 43,000 pounds of trash from Elm Cove Pond in northeast Bexar County, where neighbors had dealt with years of dumping on a half-acre property between Walzem and Old Seguin roads. The site, near 7715 Elm Cove Drive outside Converse, backs up to a neighborhood and had accumulated couches, mattresses and a barbecue pit, according to KSAT.
A Quote Too Big for the County's Budget
The initial quote to clean up the site was $100,000, according to KSAT. That quote exceeded half of the county's entire abatement budget. River Aid San Antonio organized volunteers to remove the trash, offering an alternative to the quoted cleanup.
Before any trash could come out, the county worked with Haven for Hope to connect people staying at the site with services and resources, and the shelter had beds available for those who wanted them. Enforcement only began after that outreach took place, per the same account, and Bexar County officials also had to sort out how to reach the property's owner before further action could move forward — a contact issue the county says it has since resolved. The Bexar County Sheriff's Office can address illegal trespassing and dumping at the site with the owner's consent, KSAT reports.
Neighbors Pitch In on a Years-Old Dumping Ground
Once the outreach was done, River Aid San Antonio held four separate cleanup events that drew about 170 volunteers total, as reported by KSAT, with neighbors joining in to help clear the property. Volunteers described finding years' worth of debris packed into the site — old furniture and mattresses amid what had clearly been a long-running encampment.
Vic Gomez described the accumulated debris as a “lasagna layer of garbage,” KSAT reported. Resident Libby Day said neighbors had complained about the dumping hotspot for years, according to the station.
Elm Cove Pond is in Bexar County Precinct 4, represented by Commissioner Tommy Calvert.
Local cleanup context
Bexar County's published code-compliance guidance says an inspection follows a complaint received by phone or email. That describes the county's general process, but does not establish what steps were taken at Elm Cove or provide complaint totals for the site or northeast Bexar County, according to Bexar County Code Compliance. Separate from the Elm Cove effort, the San Antonio River Authority reported that River Warriors took part in 23 cleanup events in 2024 and removed over 14,000 pounds of trash across the San Antonio River Watershed. The authority also reported that ten River Warriors collected over 450 pounds from the riverbanks at Confluence Park near the end of that year; those figures are for watershed and riverbank cleanups, not the Elm Cove property cleanup, according to the San Antonio River Authority.
One More Cleanup Planned
River Aid San Antonio plans to hold one final cleanup at the property on November 7, running from 9 a.m. to noon, with volunteers able to meet the group's team directly at 7715 Elm Cove Drive, as noted by KSAT. It marks the latest step in an effort to clear a site that had frustrated neighbors for years, after the county received a six-figure cleanup quote and River Aid San Antonio organized a volunteer-driven alternative.
