KERRVILLE, Texas – The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country announced $14 million worth of grants through the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund on Thursday to restore areas along the Guadalupe River.
The July 4 flood not only destroyed lives and homes; it also washed away much of the riverside vegetation.
“Every tree replanted, every riverbank restored, helps reduce impacts of future flooding,” said foundation CEO Austin Dickson at a Thursday morning news conference.
Part of Thursday’s funding includes $1.5 million to the Hill Country Alliance to continue with seeding programs for the next several years, he told KSAT, and develop a strategic plan for restoring the river basin.
The group’s executive director, Katherine Romans, said they’ve already distributed more than 6,000 pounds of native seeds and given away 1,000 live rooted plants, grasses and sedges. It plans to give away another 15,000 plants this summer and fall.
Similarly, $3 million was announced for the San Antonio Botanical Garden’s initiative to plant 50,000 native trees along the Guadalupe River.
Botanical Garden CEO Katherine Trumble said every tree in the five-year effort will come from a seed collected in the watershed. So far, they’ve collected more than 850,000.
“This is restoration that delivers environmental, economic, and community benefits,” Trumble said.
More than half of the announced money, though — $8.2 million — is earmarked for rebuilding the larger Louise Hays Park in Kerrville. Plans include a playground, splash pad, dog park, parking and landscaping.
“It’s wild. It is going to be beautiful. It will be representative of this community healing. It’ll be a place for people to come and commune with their families outdoors in a place that was ravaged by an unbelievable disaster‚" said Kerrville Parks and Recreation Director Jay Brimhall.
Another $375,000 will go toward the reconstruction of Guadalupe Park farther upstream, and $460,000 is for the Kerrville River Trail. Most of the latter will be to replace Camp Meeting Creek Bridge.
Other funding efforts announced Thursday included:
- $180,000 to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority for invasive species removal and improving “watershed health”
- $150,420 to the Kerr County River Foundation “to support volunteer-led river restoration efforts and design a new, resilient Lions Park” in Center Point
- $30,000 for the documentary “Hope for the Guadalupe,” which Dickson said will debut next month
The film, Dickson said, “beautifully tells the story of our beloved river and how it is people that will restore it to health."
More Hill Country Floods coverage on KSAT: