The federal government is responsible for the flooding of thousands of homes and businesses in Houston during 2017’s Hurricane Harvey by failing to accurately regulate two federally owned reservoirs, a U.S. judge ruled this week. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was found liable for failing to properly maintain the dams to hold the water that accumulated in the pair of reservoirs during the record-breaking storm in 2017.
Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed in connection with flooding from Addicks and Barker reservoirs.
The government could be found liable for up to $1 billion in flood-related damages, Bloomberg reports. The case is being reported as one of the largest takings claims ever filed against the federal government.
The ruling this week means that upstream property owners are eligible to make this into a class action lawsuit and move the case to trial to determine damages, says Daniel Charest, one of the attorneys for the residents and business owners.
Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Aug. 25, 2017. It was blamed for killing 68 people and leading to $125 billion in damages in Texas. In Houston, Harvey damaged 150,000 homes. Around the reservoirs, more than 10,000 properties were flooded.
During Harvey, officials made the decision to release water after concerns grew that the reservoirs could fail.
Attorneys for the affected property owners argued that the Corps of Engineers had known for decades that the reservoirs’ capacity could exceed federal land and could flood homes and businesses.
“The government was responsible for creating an emergency, and these citizens were the innocent victims of those calculated decisions,” Charest argued. “We look forward to pushing the case through the damages phase and achieving justice for the upstream flood victims.”
The judge with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., also ruled that the government illegally stored floodwater on private property without the landowners’ permission.
The government has denied wrongdoing, contending that the more than 60 inches of rain that overfilled into the two reservoirs was an unforeseeable act of God. It is expected to appeal the ruling.
Source: “U.S. Government Found Liable for Homes Flooding During Harvey,” Bloomberg (Dec. 17, 2019) and “Judge: Federal Government Liable for Harvey Flooding,” Associated Press (Dec. 17, 2019)
