Barker Reservoir

Barker Reservoir is a special water area near Houston, Texas that helps stop big floods in the city. It works with another reservoir called Addicks Reservoir to keep the water from the Buffalo Bayou and its smaller streams safe. These reservoirs were created many years ago to protect the city from flooding.

Inside Barker Reservoir, there is a big park called George Bush Park, which is run by Harris County. This park gives people a place to enjoy nature and have fun while the reservoir does its important job of keeping the city safe. The area around the reservoir has grown over time, with Houston expanding to include nearby places.

Location

Barker Reservoir is found southwest of where Interstate 10 and State Highway 6 meet, just about one mile (1.6 km) south of Addicks in western Harris County.

The reservoir's spillway is at a specific spot marked by coordinates. The dam and reservoir are named after the nearby community of Barker, Texas. In 1895, a railroad company built tracks through the area and named the town after the contractor, Ed. Barker.

Construction

Barker Reservoir is made by a long, rolled earthen dam that is 72,900 feet. On top of the dam, there is a 12-foot-wide gravel road. The highest part of the dam is 112.5 feet above a special point called N.G.V.D. and stands 36 feet high in some areas. The reservoir can hold up to 209,000 acre-feet of water, which is a lot! Together with the nearby Addicks Reservoir, they can hold about 410,000 acre-feet of water.

Between 2008 and 2014, work was done to make the dams safer until bigger fixes could be made. In 2014, a study was finished to look at long-term repairs for the dams. People talked about these plans in a meeting in Houston in October 2014. Construction to fix the dams was set to start in May 2015 and finish in 2019.

Benefits

The Addicks and Barker Reservoirs help protect the city of Houston from flooding. Together with other projects, they prevent about $16,372,000 in flood damage each year. However, these reservoirs do not help protect areas that are located above the dams.

Government-Induced Flooding and Ensuing Litigation

During and after Hurricane Harvey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used the Addicks and Barker dams and reservoirs, which led to 7,000 acres of private land upstream being flooded. Property owners affected by this flooding filed many lawsuits in The U.S. Court of Federal Claims, asking the U.S. government to take responsibility under a rule in the Fifth Amendment.

The court grouped these cases together for easier handling. They chose special lawyers to represent the property owners and selected a few cases, called a bellwether trial, to help decide common questions for everyone. In May 2019, a trial was held in Houston, Texas, and in December 2019, the court decided that the flooding was a taking under the Fifth Amendment. The court said that government officials knew about and caused the flooding, and that people living near these reservoirs did not know their homes could be flooded.

In June 2022, another trial decided how much money the government owed to some of these property owners. In October 2022, the court ruled in favor of these owners, who received money for loss in property value, damage to their belongings, and costs from being displaced. The total amount the government might pay to all affected property owners could be very large, possibly over $1.7 billion. The time for filing these lawsuits ended in August 2023.

Buffalo Bayou & Tributaries Resiliency Study Interim Report

In October 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shared an update about the Addicks and Barker dams and reservoirs. The update explained that when the water levels get too high, it can be dangerous for people, homes, and important buildings. It also mentioned that there isn’t enough government land to help manage the dams, because many homes and lands belong to private owners. Fixing this problem would cost a lot of money — about $10 billion.