Project type
Cities, counties, water districts, river authorities and school districts acquire land for water supply, drainage, reservoirs, rail and public buildings. Some of these projects affect very large areas at once.
A broad category. Municipal water and sewer lines, regional water supply, drainage channels and detention, levees, reservoirs, rail corridors, school sites and public buildings. The entity is usually governmental, and the procedure in Chapter 21 applies as it does elsewhere.
Reservoir projects are the largest single takings in Texas. Proposals such as Marvin Nichols in Northeast Texas would affect very large areas of timber and farm land at once. The question on a reservoir is usually fee title rather than easement, and permanent inundation rather than a corridor.
On a reservoir the first question is whether the project takes the whole holding or leaves a remainder above the pool. A remainder cut off from access or from the rest of the operation raises different questions from a whole taking.
Channels, detention basins and levees take land and change how water behaves on what remains. Where a project causes water to stand on land it did not previously reach, that can raise an inverse condemnation question even without a formal taking.
These are usually site acquisitions rather than corridors. The compensation analysis is the ordinary one, and the questions concern the value of the site and the effect on any remainder the owner keeps nearby.
Related property types
Start with your situation
Learn what the notice may mean and what information you may want to review.
ExploreSituation 02Understand how property acquisition through eminent domain may begin.
ExploreSituation 03Explore questions related to property valuation and compensation.
ExploreSituation 04Learn about issues property owners may consider when they disagree with an offer.
ExploreRelated resources
More Texas resources are on the way. New guides publish every week.
Common questions
Water supply and municipal utility districts hold eminent domain authority for their statutory purposes, and the Chapter 21 procedure applies.
Reservoir projects usually acquire fee title to land within the pool. Whether a remainder above the pool is left, and whether it is still usable, are separate questions.
Where a public improvement causes flooding that did not previously occur, that can raise an inverse condemnation question. It is fact dependent and worth discussing with a Texas attorney.
Many public projects involve approval or permitting processes with opportunities for comment. Whether one is still open depends on the project stage.
Next step
Identify the entity, the interest sought and whether a remainder is left.