EDIE ZUVANICH Special to the Press
Taylor Fire Chief Daniel Baum recently gave Taylor City Council good news and bad news regarding winter storm preparedness. The good news: much has been done to make sure the city is ready. The bad news: full preparation for the worstcase scenario is not always affordable or practical.
“Really the problem is if you have a disaster that hits the whole region and nobody can get anything, that’s where we’re really struggling but if it’s something local, we’re in good shape,” the chief reported at the Dec. 14 council meeting.
Baum told the council that the most current prediction from the National Weather Service is that Central Texas will have a winter with temperatures that are near normal, and an amount of precipitation that is near normal or slightly higher.
“About every eight years in Central Texas we get measurable snowfall and about every 12 years we get a more significant winter weather event, so statistically we should be good for a while, but you never know,” he said.
In February 2021 and again in 2023, Taylor residents suffered impacts of winter storms that included the loss of electricity and water for a prolonged period.
City staff, vendors and contractors have implemented numerous improvements to be more resilient to severe weather events, though some necessary improvements have longer-term implementation time frames. Any additional steps in the works will not be able to be implemented before the upcoming winter weather.
Baum said the Brazos River Authority has installed backup generators and purchased heating equipment as part of their emergency preparedness plan for dealing with power outages. They have also stocked replacement pipe sections and fittings for faster repairs.
Meanwhile, the city continues to explore options for additional water sources.
“The ultimate solution is the city securing a secondary water source,” Baum said. “I know ideas have been presented over the years, often very expensive and technically challenging to do. Obviously, that’s something that will be a priority in years to come.”
Another upgrade still in the works is acquiring portable generators for six of the Taylor’s critical facilities. Baum said the city was waiting for grant money to make the purchase, but the grant award has taken longer than expected so they will be asking the city to purchase the generators after the first of the
year. New generators have been installed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and North Pump Station as part of their expansion and a 4000-gallon aboveground diesel storage tank was installed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant to fuel generators and vehicles in an emergency.
Baum reported that Taylor has set aside additional funding to aid emergency sheltering by local faithbased and non-profit organizations, leading Councilmember Mitch Drummond to question why the Williamson County Expo Center was not being considered as a regional emergency shelter.
“In the past the county has been reluctant to use the facility for that reason,” Baum answered. He pointed out that the county recently hired a new director of emergency services who may see the issue differently. Bill Zito will be leaving his post as emergency services manager for Hutto to take over the County job after the first of the year.
“We should look into that,” Drummond said. “All of eastern Williamson County, there are no shelters here and not everyone can afford a motel room.”
Baum agreed that a regional emergency shelter is necessary, but also said residents have some responsibility to be able to weather a storm, at least for a short while.
“We continue to stress to the community to be self-sufficient for 72 hours,” Baum said. “Generally, after that period of time things are coming online and resources are available. We all have the individual responsibility to sustain ourselves for at least a short period of time as the city is making all the efforts it can.”
