Funding for 23 stream and river gauges across major watersheds in East Baton Rouge Parish has been restored after it was cut late last year in post-St. George budget trimming.

But, the dollars are only for the current year, and the gauges' continued operation could depend on the passage of the "Thrive! EBR" plan this fall, city-parish officials said.

And the U.S. Geological Survey gauges also could become part of a broader discussion already underway about reassigning costs now borne by the city-parish, one councilman said, after St. George emerged last year as the parish's fifth municipality following lengthy litigation.

The gauges monitor flood-prone waterways across the parish, particularly in their upper reaches. The loss would have meant having no USGS gauges on entire waterways or

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