1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,840 (birds chirping) 2 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:02,390 [Kathleen Jackson] Texas is in perpetual drought, 3 00:00:02,390 --> 00:00:03,851 punctuated by times of flood. 4 00:00:03,851 --> 00:00:04,684 (water rushing) 5 00:00:04,684 --> 00:00:07,650 So, it's so important that throughout our state 6 00:00:07,650 --> 00:00:09,530 we have early warning systems 7 00:00:09,530 --> 00:00:13,930 so that families and communities know what's coming 8 00:00:13,930 --> 00:00:15,600 and they can prepare. 9 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,160 [David Mauk] We actually are in Flash Flood Alley. 10 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:19,650 And before Hurricane Harvey, 11 00:00:19,650 --> 00:00:23,310 the record was the 1978 flood, here in Bandera County, 12 00:00:23,310 --> 00:00:26,050 where we had unconfirmed reports of 50 inches of rain 13 00:00:26,050 --> 00:00:27,370 in the western end of the county. 14 00:00:27,370 --> 00:00:29,990 I was told that this river here, 15 00:00:29,990 --> 00:00:31,810 which is basically a stream, 16 00:00:31,810 --> 00:00:34,960 had the flow of the Mississippi during that flood. 17 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,220 Traditionally, first responders had to go out 18 00:00:37,220 --> 00:00:40,250 and position themselves at some of the low water crossings 19 00:00:40,250 --> 00:00:41,520 to see the water levels 20 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:43,000 so they can understand when it was time 21 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:44,990 to shut down that low water crossing. 22 00:00:44,990 --> 00:00:48,020 Now, with the predictive model of this project, 23 00:00:48,020 --> 00:00:49,300 they'll have a better understanding. 24 00:00:49,300 --> 00:00:50,890 "Hey, when this hits a certain level, 25 00:00:50,890 --> 00:00:52,310 that already needs to be shut down." 26 00:00:52,310 --> 00:00:56,010 We saw a need for a flood early warning system 27 00:00:56,010 --> 00:00:59,260 so we can get people and property out of harm's way 28 00:00:59,260 --> 00:01:00,150 before the floodwaters come. 29 00:01:00,150 --> 00:01:02,351 When we saw that problem, we went to the USGS, 30 00:01:02,351 --> 00:01:04,410 and they brought us a solution. 31 00:01:04,410 --> 00:01:05,901 [The] Water Development Board gave us the 32 00:01:05,901 --> 00:01:07,643 funding to get it done. 33 00:01:07,643 --> 00:01:09,609 [Kathleen Jackson] In Bandera, they're using 34 00:01:09,609 --> 00:01:11,367 real-time streamflow gages 35 00:01:11,367 --> 00:01:14,810 in conjunction with flood inundation mapping 36 00:01:14,810 --> 00:01:16,220 to give emergency management 37 00:01:16,220 --> 00:01:17,820 the type of information they need 38 00:01:17,820 --> 00:01:19,770 to help the public to know 39 00:01:19,770 --> 00:01:22,110 when flooding is occurring ahead of time 40 00:01:22,110 --> 00:01:24,530 and be able to get out of harm's way. 41 00:01:24,530 --> 00:01:27,050 The flood inundation mapping are visual 42 00:01:27,050 --> 00:01:28,740 so that as you look at them, 43 00:01:28,740 --> 00:01:32,000 it's easy to see where the flooding will occur 44 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:33,740 during different rainfall events. 45 00:01:33,740 --> 00:01:35,980 (cars whooshing) 46 00:01:35,980 --> 00:01:37,980 [William Mitchell] Throughout history, Uvalde County 47 00:01:37,980 --> 00:01:39,933 has had some tremendously great floods. 48 00:01:40,860 --> 00:01:43,630 Any given weekend, during the months, 49 00:01:43,630 --> 00:01:47,280 summer months from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 50 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:48,850 that period of time, 51 00:01:48,850 --> 00:01:51,910 our county population truly doubles 52 00:01:51,910 --> 00:01:55,480 because of the influx of people that come into the county, 53 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:56,945 to the rivers, to enjoy the rivers. 54 00:01:56,945 --> 00:01:58,400 And we want them to come, 55 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:00,870 but we want them to stay safe as well. 56 00:02:00,870 --> 00:02:04,490 In 2016, Uvalde County made an application 57 00:02:04,490 --> 00:02:06,010 to the Texas Water Development Board 58 00:02:06,010 --> 00:02:08,670 for a flood early warning system. 59 00:02:08,670 --> 00:02:12,010 We got it online in February 2018. 60 00:02:12,010 --> 00:02:14,530 We have all this technology 61 00:02:14,530 --> 00:02:18,340 that we're depending upon to help notify people 62 00:02:18,340 --> 00:02:19,920 in order to save lives. 63 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:22,450 And if we don't have a good infrastructure, 64 00:02:22,450 --> 00:02:25,600 if we don't have a good tower that's dependable, 65 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,590 that data may not be transmitted properly. 66 00:02:29,590 --> 00:02:32,600 The site that we're using right now on Kennedy Mountain, 67 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,440 number one, it's old. 68 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,530 Also, there's a tremendous amount of other agencies, 69 00:02:38,530 --> 00:02:42,930 other firms, transmitting right there off that mountain. 70 00:02:42,930 --> 00:02:45,540 And we needed to rebuild the tower 71 00:02:45,540 --> 00:02:47,450 because of the aging factor. 72 00:02:47,450 --> 00:02:48,283 And number two, we thought, 73 00:02:48,283 --> 00:02:49,850 well, if we're going to do that, 74 00:02:49,850 --> 00:02:53,630 let's look at a spot that we can isolate ourselves 75 00:02:53,630 --> 00:02:58,630 so that our alert system could be more dependable. 76 00:02:58,810 --> 00:03:00,620 The Flood Infrastructure Fund 77 00:03:00,620 --> 00:03:03,389 was a tremendous fit for the tower. 78 00:03:03,389 --> 00:03:06,630 It just kind of pieced the whole thing together. 79 00:03:06,630 --> 00:03:08,463 [Kathleen Jackson] So, a great example of 80 00:03:08,463 --> 00:03:10,597 using the resources 81 00:03:10,597 --> 00:03:12,020 of the Texas Water Development Board, 82 00:03:12,020 --> 00:03:13,870 the Flood Infrastructure Fund, 83 00:03:13,870 --> 00:03:16,870 to be able to pull together technology 84 00:03:16,870 --> 00:03:19,340 and the actions of emergency management 85 00:03:19,340 --> 00:03:20,776 to protect the public. 86 00:03:20,776 --> 00:03:23,740 [William Mitchell] The reason we invest in flood mitigation 87 00:03:23,740 --> 00:03:25,303 is simply to save lives.