SAN ANTONIO -- Additional rain over the past two days has led to closer monitoring in the Hills of Rivermist neighborhood on the northwest side, where sliding soil has left more than two dozen houses still evacuated.
Rain was expected to continue off and on through the morning hours Thursday in San Antonio before clearing off.
More than 90 homes were originally evacuated when a retaining wall failed Jan. 24.
Centex Homes officials met with City of San Antonio leaders earlier this week to discuss a third-party engineer's response program and long-term solution for managing the slope and retaining wall issues, according to a Centex news release.
Centex has retained an independent engineering firm to evaluate and correct the problems.
The homebuilder also is proving home inspections to all residents who were temporarily evacuated Jan. 24 and is working to improve the living situation for the 27 still-evacuated homeowners.
Those residents have been living at a short-stay hotel for the past week and a half, but may now have the option of moving to an extended-stay facility.
Centex has installed silt fencing and foundation piers at the Hills of Rivermist site. Spokeswoman Valerie Dolenga says the builder expects "that some of the slope will continue to erode" and additional cracking is expected, but the retaining wall is stable.
The homebuilder has announced that an independent engineer is inspecting all of its retaining walls around San Antonio to check for similar issues.
"Centex remains committed to working with the City and third-party experts to identify the root cause of the event, develop solutions, and execute upon the independent engineer’s recommendation to ensure homeowners can return to their homes as soon as possible," Laurin Darnell of Centex Homes said in the news release.
An aide to City Councilman Reed Williams says a meeting will be held Saturday at a nearby school to discuss the Hills of Rivermist situation. Full details of that meeting place and time were not yet available.
