County looks to install more flood and weather equipment

The county will be working with other agencies to install more flood warning related equipment and maintain weather stations to help ensure the safety of Hays County residents.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Hays County Commissioners Court approved a resolution expressing the intention to enter into an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation for the installation of flood warning equipment on or within state highway property or right-of-way.

In an email about the agenda item, county emergency Management Coordinator Kharley Smith said the county wants to start off with Farm to Market Road 150 at the Onion Creek crossings.

“That is a state roadway so we need to get authorization to install our equipment,” she said.

Language in the resolution acknowledges the “need and necessity” of providing current safety, traffic and flood-related information to residents and officials.

The commissioners also approved a memorandum of understanding between the county and the Bureau of Land Management for maintenance of RAWS – Remote Automated Weather Stations – equipment throughout the county. The equipment requires annual maintenance to ensure that quality fire and flood data are collected so the data can be reported to officials such as fire departments, the National Weather Service and first responders. The county purchased the equipment with a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality grant last year.

“It’s really just ... to make sure our data can be utilized at a local, state and federal level,” Smith told the commissioners.

In an email, Smith noted that the weather equipment reports to the Haysinformed.com emergency information website, and the flood warning equipment will report to Haysinformed.com just like existing flood warning equipment does.