Kelly Hagemeier, Program Manager for Kerr Together, provided an update on the impacts of the flood on homes and businesses in Kerr County.
Tara Bushnoe, Upper Guadalupe River Authority General Manager, gave an overview of the new flood warning system on the Guadalupe River.
Kelly presented some sobering facts about the effects of the flood on July 16, 2026: 123 businesses and 966 residences were impacted by the rising waters. The assessments of residential damage indicate the most pressing needs were and still are initial muck out, debris removal, financial assistance and temporary housing. Indivuduals and volunteer organizations have contributed over 25,000 hours helping locals recover, but financial assistance is down significantly from last year's flood.
On the commercial side, 103 businesses have been supported, with over $1,000,000 in grants distributed. However, there is still a long way to go for many businesses, in addition to county wide agricultural damage, mold remediation and road and driveway repairs.
Tara explained that UGRA proactively used some of their reserves to get the Kerr County flood warning systems started. The State of Texas allocated money to fund the warning systems, but in order to meet the goal of having the initial systems operational by May of 2026, UGRA began the design and implementation process before the funding was fully available. As of May 11 of this year, six sirens were installed and operational.
The UGRA and Kerr County joined forces to implement the warning systems. UGRA provides the river guage network, modeling, data viewing, outreach and education, and operation and maintenance of their systems. Kerr County provides the sirens, software, emergency response to floods, and operation and maintenance to their portion of the system.
These systems will be expanded, with up to an additional thirty sirens installed over the next year. The warning systems are a multifaceted approach, including cell phone warnings and website information for the public to track development of storms and river levels. The UGRA RiverHub website is under development, and will soon be operational to provide vital flood warning information for Kerr County.
