Speaker
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Curtis Beitel PEClient Manager | Walker Partners, LLCCurtis is a client manager with Walker Partners in Fort Worth, working on stormwater and flood mitigation projects for public clients across Texas. He has been active in ASCE since he graduated from Texas A&M University in 1993, serving as President of the Fort Worth Branch from 2001-02, President of the Texas Section from 2014-15 and President of the Texas Civil engineering Foundation from 2020-present.
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: Sep 16 2026
- Time: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
CSI: Guadalupe River: Investigating the Scene of the July 2025 Flood
The devastation from the flash flood event on July 4, 2025 on the Guadalupe River was a crime against humanity. Join me as we investigate the scene of this crime to track down the culprit. Although 11 inches of rainfall fell over the basin in a 3-hour period, the devastation was more intense than anyone expected. At one point the Guadalupe River was 55 feet deep and a resident with a radar gun clocked debris moving at 17 miles per hour down the river. What could cause such extreme conditions? We will examine the usual suspects – extreme rainfall and thin rocky soils – and profile a new suspect. Were they there that night, and if so, what is their alibi?
The answer may lie in plain sight in many of the photos of the aftermath and survivor accounts. At least 1.3 million cubic yards of debris was removed from the river corridor – it was not just water flowing down the river. Many uprooted trees became wedged against other trees to form woody debris dams, potentially backing up a river depth of 55 feet. The cracking sound of wood reported by many survivors could have been the woody dams breaching, producing intense breach waves moving downstream at up to 17 miles per hour. After building the case against our suspect, we will discuss what we need to do to apprehend and lock the suspect up to make sure this devastation and loss of life does not happen again.
