After recurring damaging floods, including the flood of 1998, the city of San Marcos installed outdoor sirens in 2011 to warn people of potential weather dangers.
Over time, the sirens fell into disrepair. They weren't fully operational again until January.
And they were used last weekend.
Residents said they've been effective in letting people know about weather developments, specifically in anticipating water-related disasters.
Kerr County did not have an outdoor warning system when the Guadalupe River began to crest early on the Fourth of July.
“Hindsight’s 20/20,” Rob Fitch, San Marcos' director of emergency management, said. “Everybody’s now thinking, ‘Wow, well, you should’ve had those.’”
The 50-foot poles in San Marcos blared over the weekend, automatically going off as the National Weather Service issued alerts about conditions that could impact the city.
Although the city didn't experience any flooding, Mark Jalufka, general manager of the San Marcos Lions Club Tube Rental, said it helped get people out of the river when thunderstorms rolled in.
"It's one thing for us to walk out here and just tell people about it, but when that thing goes off, people notice," he said. "They want to know what it's about."
When people go swimming or tubing along the San Marcos River, some leave their phones behind and aren’t able to access important weather information. Jalufka said the sirens are hard to ignore.
“ It’s almost like a whoop — a long whoop — and it's very, very loud,” he said.
In some areas, the sirens are as loud as 100 decibels, which is comparable to the sound of a chainsaw or motorcycle. In addition to alerting residents about flash floods, the sirens also have distinct sounds for wildfires and tornadoes.
“We really don’t care if people understand the difference in the wails,” Fitch said. “It’s really set to say, ‘Hey, take a look at what’s going on.’”
In May 2015, the Blanco and San Marcos rivers overflowed — with some areas seeing over 40 feet of water. There were multiple deaths, property damage and high-water rescues.
After the historic flash flooding, Fitch said, City Council members began looking into ways to restore the 14 outdoor sirens.
“We have a lot of homes along the riverfront, and we have homeless people that are along the riverfront,” he said.
Based on estimates from January, the city of San Marcos is projected to grow by about 56% in the next 10 years. Along with population growth, city officials said, lots of weekend visitors come in from out of town. Fitch said this creates a need to expand the current system.
City officials want to put up more towers, but Fitch said they can be expensive. The towers could cost close to $37,000 each. San Marcos got federal grant money to help pay for the towers when they were first installed in 2011.
When cities are considering building these siren systems, Fitch said, “it comes back to money, every time.”
Texas lawmakers failed to pass a measure earlier this year that would have included the use of outdoor warning sirens to help communicate with residents when natural disasters are developing.
After more than 100 people died in floods in Central Texas over the weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott added agenda items to the Legislature's special session, set to begin July 21, that address improving the state's emergency warning systems. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told FOX News it's possible such sirens up and down the river “would've saved some of these lives.”
