1. Using a Remote Gauging Network to Build Regional Partnerships and Manage Drought
The Lower ColoradoRiverAuthority(LCRA)Hydromet systemincludes more than270 remote gauges
across southeastandCentral Texas.LCRA uses data fromthe network tooptimize operationsof the
HighlandLakessystemof damsand reservoirsonthe TexasColoradoRiver. The extensivenetworkof
rainfall,temperature andwaterlevel stations iswell-established andprovidesaready frameworkforthe
collectionof additional environmental datatosupportprojects withregional andlocal partners.
LCRA has partneredwith Texasuniversitiestocollectdatatohelpidentify,forecastandmanage drought
and floodconditions. The Hydrometnetwork monitorsevapotranspiration aspartof a TexasA&M
Universityprogram toincrease wateringefficiency forlandscape irrigation customers.The second
project,incoordinationwith The Universityof TexasatAustin,monitorssoil moisture conditionsat
several LCRA Hydrometsitesto increase the understandingof hydrologicconditionsinthe Colorado
Riverbasin.
Evapotranspiration Data and WaterConservation
In 2014, several yearsinto a historicdrought, LCRA enteredintoapartnershipwithTexasA&MAgriLife
Extension Service tocollectevapotranspiration dataforthe TexasET Network (http://texaset.tamu.edu)
IrrigationTechnologyProgram andthe WaterMy Yard program. The partnershiphelpedinstall solar
radiationandwind-speedsensors atsix existinggaugingstations,addingtothe rainfall,airtemperature
and humiditydatathe stations already collect.Datacollectedatthe Hydrometgauge site help calculate
a location’sestimatedevapotranspiration rate.The estimatesare available toLCRA watercustomersto
aidin theirwaterconservationefforts. The stations closesttothe mostLCRA watercustomersreceived
the ET sensors.Figure 1showsthe hourly data report.
Figure 1
The following numericinformation ishourly ET parameterreportdata showing station ID,year, day of
year,hour,air temperature,relativehumidity, solarradiation,wind speed and rainfall:
2959,2014,294,000,66.67,72.52,0.00,0.64,0.00
LCRA retrieves the dataremotelyvialine of sight radio.Currently,six ETstations are on-line inLCRA’s
waterservice area.Figure 2 showsa typical deploymentof ETsensors andFigure 3 showsa typical data-
sharingRTU arrangement.

2. Figure 2
This photo showsthetypicaldeploymentof evapotranspiration sensors.They includea tipping
bucketrainfall gauge, an airtemperatureand humidity probe, and pyranometersolar
radiation,wind speed and wind direction sensors.
Figure 3
This photo showsthetypicaldata-sharing and retrievalarrangement
with two RTUsand a radio in an equipmentcabinet.
RTU Controller for ET sensors
Primary Hydromet Communications RTU
Data Retrieval Radio

3. Soil Moisture Monitoring for HydrologicForecasting and Satellite Calibration
In 2013, the JacksonSchool of Geosciences atThe Universityof Texas approachedLCRA withaproposal
to worktogetheronthe collectionof soil moisture dataaspart of the TexasSoil ObservationNetwork
and the NASA Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP)Mission.The highresolutionsoil moisture data
collectedaspart of the SMAP missionwill enable improvementsinweatherforecasts,floodanddrought
forecasts,andpredictionsof agricultural productivityandclimate change,accordingtoNASA,
http://science.nasa.gov/missions/smap/.
Duringthe summerof 2014, UT researchersinstalled soil moistureprobes atseven existingLCRA
Hydrometgauges inGillespie County,Texas. The researchersinstalled dielectricsensors atdepthsof 5,
10, 20 and 50 centimeter(seeFigure 4) andincorporatedthe new sensorsintothe existingHydromet
RTU data logger.
Figure 4
This photo shows a typical soil moisture probe installation.

4. A line of sightradioretrievesthe datafromthe sites ona 15-minute schedule andsendsittoUT, which
makesitavailable athttp://coastal.beg.utexas.edu/soilmoisture/#/.
UT researchers alsoinstalledadditional sensorsat locations hostedby regional groundwater
managementdistricts. All the sensorsare withina36-kilometergridcell inthe Fredericksburgareaand
easternGillespie County,showin Figure 5as the 36 km2 StudyArea.Soil moisture observations
collectedwithinthisgridcell willhelpcalibrate andvalidatesatellite-basedestimatescalculatedfrom
radar and microwave techniques. Visitorstothe soil moisture Webpage mapcan select datafromeach
gaugingstation (see Figure 6).
Figure 5
The aboverepresentsa projectlocation map.

5. Figure 6
The abovechartshows rainfall, soil moisturecontentand soil temperaturedata collected fromthe
PedernalesRiver at LBJ Ranch HydrometGauge. NotetheJan.22-23 rain eventand the soil response.
LCRA watermanagersexpecttouse the ground-basedandsatellite soilmoisture datatoincrease both
the confidence and leadtime of seasonal wateravailabilitymodels. Watermanagers particularly are
interestedin applyingthe datatodroughtdetectionandforecasting,aswell asfloodforecasting.