Bexar County invests in new flood warning system

The conditions

The flood warning system roadmap introduced by SARA includes three categories—immediate, short-term and long-term.

Immediate:

• Restore functionality to all gauges and communications
• Update gauge alert thresholds with additional warning levels

Short-term:

• Standardize all programmable and communication equipment
• Install manually closing low-water crossing barricade gates
• Report to a single server, share data with partners
• Single command center, shared access with partners
• Implement and leverage PFM 3.0 for more precise flooding locations and timing

Long-term:

• Leverage PFM 3.0 to identify future infrastructure needs
• Automate low-water crossing barricade gates

SARA said the upgrades and expansions are due to a variety of factors, such as Bexar County’s location within the Balcones Escarpment, which can see intense and unpredictable weather, rapid changes in elevation, impervious limestone, erosive soils and steep slopes; and a favorable climate for flash flooding.

The backstory

According to county documents, Bexar County’s past investments in flood control includes a 10-year, $500 million flood control program first commenced in 2007 and an additional $384 million in local flood control projects since 2017. Investments include roughly 80 high water alert life savings technology warning systems that use sensors to detect rising water on roadways.

Additionally, Bexar County, the city of San Antonio, SARA and 20 suburban cities formed an inter-local agency partnership known as Bexar Regional Watershed Management in 2003, which manages regional stormwater issues within the County. The agency has implemented over $2 billion in flood mitigation projects since its creation.