Overview

• County commissioners first recognized the high flash flood risk in the Guadalupe Basin in 2016 and commissioned a preliminary engineering report that year.
• The 2016 study backed by the Texas Water Development Board recommended a nearly $1 million warning system with gauges and public alerts that was never funded.
• Efforts to secure a 2017 FEMA grant and state funding in 2021 and 2023 collapsed amid political resistance and concerns over cost.
• On April 17 the Upper Guadalupe River Authority awarded Kisters a $73,000 contract for system development but no equipment or alert network has been deployed.
• The absence of sirens and failure to coordinate with the National Weather Service during the July 4 floods left residents without timely warnings, whereas nearby Comfort evacuated safely using flood sirens.