Trinity River Authority responds to concerns about Lake Livingston Dam after viral video

LIVINGSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The team in charge of the Trinity River Dam issued a lengthy statement reassuring everyone that the dam is safe after a YouTube video with half a million views questioned its structural integrity.

"There was some concern from the community, both from around the reservoir and downstream," Doug Haude with the Trinity River Authority said.

The video references a study by a group out of Virginia Tech. According to a summary of the study posted online, the group used satellites to study dams and determine if they were moving. The video claims that of the dams' studies, Lake Livingston saw the most movement.

Now, the Trinity River Authority told ABC13, based on their gauges, tools, and data, that there is no evidence the dam is moving or that its integrity is compromised.

"At this point in time, we are in full compliance," Haude said.

The River Authority said after several extreme weather events, the dam was damaged and placed under a 'potential failure watch'. Emergency repairs wrapped up in 2025, and the dam was moved to a 'watch conditions' status.

According to the National Inventory of Dams, the last inspection was in September 2025, when the dam was rated 'unsatisfactory,' the lowest rating a dam can receive. The River Authority said they expect that rating to also improve with the repairs completed, and more improvements to the spillway are expected to begin in 2027.

"We take dam safety very seriously. We are in constant communication with all the emergency management coordinators and managers downstream of the reservoir. We do table-top exercises with them in the event that there ever is an emergency, so we take that very seriously," Haude said.

As for the study that prompted the video and the Facebook post, the River Authority said they are always looking for new technologies to stay on the cutting edge of dam safety. While they don't implement satellite imagery techniques now, they do fly over the dam and capture video and photos to compile their own data to determine if the ground is moving or settling.

ABC13 attempted to contact the author of the original report but was unsuccessful.