Acequia Madre de Valero (Main Irrigation Ditch of Valero Mission) - San Antonio, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 29° 25.178 W 098° 29.207
14R E 549784 N 3254588
The irrigation ditch built to water crops for the famous Alamo is visible on the grounds of the HemisFair Plaza in San Antonio, TX.
Waymark Code: WM169MK
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/08/2022
Views: 1
Marker on site:
NATIONAL HISTORIC
CIVIL ENGINEERING LANDMARK
(EMBLEM)
THE ACEQUIAS OF SAN ANTONIO
Historical Marker:
One in a network of ditches begun by the Spanish and their Indian charges at the founding of San Antonio in 1718.
Hand-dug and made of dressed limestone, the acequia diverted water from San Antonio River through fields belonging to San Antonio de Valero Mission. Irrigation was the key to the growth of mission and town.
The ditch paralleled present Broadway by Brackenridge Park and Alamo Street, then fed back into the river southwest of this section. It became part of modern waterworks after 1877. This section was restored, 1968.
ASCE
The Acequias of San Antonio are among the earliest engineered water supply and irrigation systems recorded in the United States. The Acequias served an integral role in the growth and stability of the San Antonio community for nearly 200 years. The eight canals, totaling 15 miles in length, were built by Spanish settlers who learned the technique from the Moors. Each acequia was a complicated system of storage dams, floodways, control gates, canals, sluices, and distribution ditches.
Sections of the Acequias continue to operate today. A portion of the San Juan Acequis has been renovated and provides irrigation for fields south of San Antonio. The Espada Acequia still flows vigorously and serves the Mission Espada and nearby fields. The first 200 to 300 feet of the Upper Labor Acequia are intact, and are used by the city zoo for its waterfowl displays."