MORGAN’S POINT RESORT, Texas (KWTX) – In the year since deadly flooding struck the Hill Country, summer camps across Texas have been updating safety systems and emergency protocols — some more easily than others.
Bluebonnet Shores Girl Scout Camp, located right on Lake Belton, is among the camps that had to make changes ahead of this summer season.
Camp Services Director Alicia Gust says initially after the devastating floods they reached out to parents to reassure them about the safety of their camp.
“We actually sit up above the dam so if the lake ever got to that point where it was so full we would have a long ways to go before it ever reached us,” Gust explained.
Warning systems and emergency plans already in place
Camp Manager Kaytlyn Worner says they also had existing warning systems and emergency action plans in place, working closely with their local first responders.
“For the past several years I have worked directly with our local EMS, the Morgan’s Point fire department and police department, as well as the Temple ambulance department about our EAPs and what their recommendations are,” Worner shared.
When the Texas Legislature passed three new laws enhancing safety measures at summer camps, Worner said the camp only needed to make a few adjustments.
“We added a public address system that allows us to give specific commands, not just a siren,” Gust said. “We beefed up our emergency action plans a little bit and we had to submit it to the state of Texas, to the health department this year.”
Camps struggle to meet new requirements
For Tejas Camp and Retreat in Giddings, the path to compliance was more difficult. Executive Director Paul Biles said the fiber optic internet requirement was the biggest challenge for them.
“Even though we were three miles away, three miles is very expensive and you could quickly spend a quarter million dollars getting fiber to your facility,” Biles explained.
Biles says thankfully Tejas was able to meet the requirement in time to open for summer, but other camps weren’t so lucky.
“There’s several camps in the state of Texas that had to close their doors because of the regulations that again with the time frame given and their budgets and what they’re able to do, it’s just too big of a hill to climb,” he shared.
Biles says looking forward he hopes lawmakers will engage directly with camp operators and consider more flexible compliance options during the upcoming legislative session.
“Giving the opportunity for lawmakers to visit and to speak with and to experience camps across Texas we can really make a wonderful law that keeps kids safe and camps open and have fun at the same time,” Biles said.
Saturday, July 4, marks one year since the deadly Hill Country floods.
Copyright 2026 KWTX. All rights reserved.