the flood, there were a ton of volunteer groups that came in to help make the homes livable. They came in and they mucked out homes, they got rid of any mold, tore down the sheet rock, got out all the mud and the dirt and the debris, put drywall up and got those houses livable ready.” The reality of construction costs shapes expectations. “A million dollars basically covers three homes,” Hornes says. “I’m old enough to know that sounds crazy. That doesn’t seem like enough homes, but that’s the world we live in now.”Yet ongoing housing developments including Lennar homes and the Bluewood apartments continue moving forward, with damage concentrated within 300 feet of the riverbanks on both sides. REBUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE, PARKS, AND COMMUNITY SERVICES The flood’s assault on city infrastructure demanded swift action across multiple systems. Stuart Barron, Executive Director of Public Works and Engineering, describes the initial emergency response. “We had an emergency effort for about three weeks where we were fixing the water system, including broken water mains, getting our water treatment plant back online, and repairing bridges,” he says.“There weren’t too many streets that had gone out. We did have some asphalt damage here and there, but those were minimal compared to our utility issues.” Wastewater systems faced particular strain as 28 lift stations contended with overwhelming rainwater.“A couple of lift stations went completely underwater, but we were able to get those all back up and running in a matter of about a week and a lot less time for most of them,” Barron notes.“We didn’t have a large period of time that we were out of service.” Louise Hays Park, a central community gathering place, sustained severe damage. Rosa Ledesma, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation, inventories the destruction. “We’ve got playground equipment that’s completely gone. The pavilions 95 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 11 KERRVILLE, TX
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