The Upper Guadalupe River Authority Board of Directors unanimously approved a new task order with WEST Consultants to plan rain and stream gauges for the region’s flood warning system during a special meeting Friday.
UGRA President Dr. William Rector called the meeting to order at 3 p.m. in the UGRA boardroom, confirming a quorum with board members Jeanne Stacey, Austin Dickson, Diane McMahon and Weir Labbatt present.
Rector opened with an invocation referencing the flooding that struck the area in mid-July. The board then turned to Task Order #3 with WEST Consultants, which will fund planning for rain and stream gauges as part of the flood warning system. UGRA Manager Tara Bushnoe told the board the work builds on two earlier task orders UGRA executed with WEST in February.
“We want to make sure that we’re ready to launch into the next step of the program,” Bushnoe said. “Gauges, rain gauges and stream gauges are an important part of that. So this task order will start now, pending approval, and go through about March.”
Bushnoe estimated the task order would cost about $130,000 through the end of the fiscal year in September, with the Flood Prediction and Control Committee holding a workshop with WEST Consultants on Aug. 31 to identify target sub watersheds for gauge locations.
Board Secretary Austin Dickson asked about long-term responsibility for maintaining the gauges once installed. “We don’t want to be responsible for something that is installed and then never looked after again,” Dickson said.
Bushnoe said UGRA is finalizing an interlocal agreement outlining maintenance responsibilities with the county and will present it at the board’s August meeting. “UGRA will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the gauges in the long term,” she said.
Rector noted the importance of gauge coverage after the July flooding. “I think we found out on July the 16th that we did not have gauges that would have been helpful on some of our tributaries, like Town Creek, Quinlan Creek,” he said.
The board approved the task order unanimously.
The board then approved a series of FY26 budget amendments. Bushnoe said the amendments move $130,000 into the budget to cover the newly approved task order, funded in part by reducing planned spending on the Riparian Parks and Watershed programs.
The amendments also include about $28,000 to replace a piece of backup equipment for the siren system lost during the July 2026 flood. “It’s not a huge item, but it is a critical item,” Rector said.
Additionally, the amendments authorize roughly $18,000 for a new server after the authority’s existing server failed and caused an outage. Bushnoe said long lead times for the equipment, driven by high demand from data centers, prompted the request to move up the purchase.
The budget amendment motion also passed unanimously.
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