River authority getting funds in wake of Hill Country flood disaster

(The Center Square) – A river authority in central Texas has been awarded a $29 million grant to strengthen flood monitoring systems while a neighboring river authority is under state legislative scrutiny.

The state comptroller’s Broadband Development Office has awarded a $29 million grant to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to expand high-speed internet access in rural communities and strengthen flood-monitoring systems in Central Texas.

The LCRA produces and delivers electric power to the lower Colorado River region. It operates six dams in Central Texas, which form six lakes comprising the Highland Lakes. Two of the lakes, Buchanan and Travis, provide the region’s water supply reservoirs serving more than one million people. The lakes also provide the water supply for businesses, the agriculture industry and wildlife in the lower Colorado River basin, the LCRA explains.

The LCRA also manages a public parks system and supports communit...