Hell & High Water

What About the Dam? As the ponderous curtains of rain swept on through the darkness, San Antonio waited nervously for something worse. Would the Olmos Dam hold? It had been built after the disastrous flash flood of 1921, had been a subject of controversy ever since. One group of engineers had predicted that it would break under severe pressure, send a wall of water roaring through the city. [Now, as a lake backed up behind the 1 ,900-ft. concrete barrier, an inevitable rumor spread: "The darn is going to break."

The rumor grew all the next day. The downpour stopped, as dramatically as it had begun, shortly after dawn. Downtown streets were free of water by noon. The sun came out. San Antonio still waited tensely. Then the suspense ended. The sudden storm had killed six people, made 5,000 temporarily homeless, caused $5,000,000 in damages. But the dam, with the water from a mile-long lake lapping up within six feet of its rim, stood firm.

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