The report below covers agenda items from the Feb. 16 meeting that included discussion on SWIFT applications, flood protection planning grants and studies, and a drought update.
SWIFT Update (during outreach efforts and activities discussion), Chair Bech Bruun
- The list of 2016 SWIFT Abridged Applications are posted on the website
- Have received 40 new abridge applications that total a bit over $2.3 billion in requests
- $350 million in multi-year committments were also made during the previous year
- Significant increase in both conservation projects as well as rural projects
Request for applications on flood protection planning grants, Mark Segner staff
- Kathleen Jackson – asked for list of what is available to communities
- Staff – can still apply for grants that were the same in the past, could apply for equipment reverse 911 software, personnel, rain gauges, etc
- Bruun – could scenario be for group
- Staff – will have something out in next 30 days and something to board in May June time frame
- Peter Lake – appreciated staff reaching out to local area
- Motion unanimously approved
Consider RFQ’s to study improvements to hydrometerological flood forecasting, Mark Wentzel staff
- Staff will initiate a Request for Qualifications process to select a qualified contractor for this work. The selected contractor will perform analyses to identify communities in Texas that, due to limited or non-existent stream and weather monitoring, receive inadequate warning from the National Weather Service’s Advanced Hydrologic Predication Service or other flood warning systems.
- Funding for the this project will not exceed $150k and work will be completed by Dec. 31, 2016
- Jackson asked about expertise or qualifications – asked for clarification that this would not delay anything else they are working on
- Motion unanimously approved
Drought Conditions, Mark Wentzel staff
- Drought changes rather slowly in this time of year
- Drought Map from Feb. 9 shows an increase in transition to drier conditions
- Newer map shows 45% of state abnormally dry – newer conditions broke 11 straight weeks of no drought in Texas
- Went from 12% to 45% of Texas now in drought conditions in the last week
- Notes one or two storms could catch state back to normal quickly
- Reservoir Conservation Storage – tremendous recovery in 2015 and still showing improvements overall, relatively good shape on a state wide perspective
- Major Municipal reservoir system storage – look at local level, El Paso gained some percentage points and some are full but two spots – San Angelo and Midland/Odessa trends are not good so they are keeping an eye on it
- Groundwater responds slower than surface water to impacts – nicest start to a year since before start of 2011 flood, total of 10 wells seeing improvement and 7 showing declines
- Of 10 improving, 5 have gains of more than 5 feet from previous year
- Some of these do take more than a year to recharge such as the Ogallala
- Expect above average participation through the month of May – El Nino conditions will flip over to La Nina in the fall sometime
No one spoke during public comments and board adjourned at 10:20am.