With the next Texas flood season just months away, Kerr County officials say they\u2019re in a race to build a long-planned flood warning system estimated to cost up to $5 million \u2014 and they\u2019re depending on the state to contribute a large share of the cost.<\/p>\n
Last week Kerr officials said the system will be made up of sirens, rain gauges, a website to track flood conditions and signs with lights that flash during dangerous flooding. The website is already in the works, but the county says it needs help to fund the rest.<\/p>\n
Once the county has the money it needs and chooses a contractor, the system could be built in four to six months, said a former county commissioner leading the project team. <\/p>\n
Earlier this week, the Texas Water Development Board took a step to help flood-prone counties get state money faster. Each of the 30 counties included in the governor\u2019s disaster declaration after the July floods<\/a> could receive grants of up to $1 million and may request up to $250,000 more without requiring the board\u2019s approval. Requests above that amount will need to go through the slower board approval process.<\/p>\n The move is intended to speed up access to $50 million that state lawmakers approved <\/a>earlier this year for flood warning sirens and rain gauges in Texas counties<\/a> hit by the devastating floods, which killed more than 100 people over the July 4 weekend \u2014 most of them in Kerr County. Selected counties received paperwork for the $1 million grants<\/a> on Thursday so they can move forward. <\/p>\n Senate Bill 3<\/a>, which passed during a special session this summer, directed the water development board to identify which areas within the 30 counties struck by the July floods should be required to install flood warning sirens, based on whether they have consistently flooded in the past and other factors such as whether people have died in floods or homes are in areas at risk for flash flooding. The bill also asked the board to develop best practices for such systems and how to operate them. <\/p>\n That process is ongoing. The guidance for the warning systems is expected to be announced in January and the public will have 30 days to give the state feedback.<\/p>\n Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a>, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick<\/a> and House Speaker Dustin Burrows all supported the idea of requiring alert systems and getting them in place by next summer.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s very important as a board, as an agency, that we quickly make funds available \u2026 as quickly as we can, so the communities can have access to the funds,\u201d L\u2019Oreal Stepney, the water development board\u2019s chair, said during Wednesday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s unclear whether the fast-tracked state funding will be enough to make the Kerr County flood warning system happen before next spring, when Texas typically sees its heaviest rains. <\/p>\n The General Manager Tara Bushnoe of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, which is working with Kerr County to plan and build the system, has said the TWDB funding is expected to be \u201ca large funding mechanism\u201d for the project. <\/p>\n In the wake of the catastrophic floods and passage of the new law, Kerr County officials created a project team<\/a> with representatives from the county, the river authority, and the cities of Kerrville and Ingram to plan a warning system. <\/p>\n Tom Moser, a former Kerr County commissioner, presented the team\u2019s plan to county commissioners on Dec. 8. <\/p>\n The system would combine National Weather Service forecasts with data from more than 100 rain and stream gauges across the Guadalupe River watershed. When the river reaches a certain level, the system would publish alerts on a public website, trigger outdoor sirens along the river as well as flashing flood signs. <\/p>\n Kerr County Commissioner Rich Paces said the website would allow residents, summer camps, volunteer fire departments and first responders to monitor conditions in real time. Moser said the county has not yet committed any money for the system. <\/p>\n Moser estimates the system could cost about $5 million and will be designed to give residents and visitors enough time \u2014 the goal is at least 15 minutes \u2014 to move to safety. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re ready to move forward,\u201d Moser said. \u201cThe bottom line is, let\u2019s get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n Bushnoe said the river authority is paying for the initial phase of the system, including the website, to compile weather forecasts and rain gauge data and make it available to emergency officials. That phase is currently in development and expected to go live early next year, Bushnoe said in an email. <\/p>\n