Ector County Courthouse closed on Monday due to another severe flooding.
A busted water line caused indoor flooding that was isolated to the first floor and the basement, affecting the County Clerk’s office and the records in the basement.
The incident happened around 9:40 a.m.
“We had to shut down the courthouse today because of the severity of the flooding and because we needed to shut down all of our servers and protect all the IT and protect the county’s information technology system,” Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett said in a press conference outside of the courthouse on Monday. “Right now, we’re trying to evacuate as much water as possible and do as much damage control as we can. We had to turn off all the water in the courthouse, which was another reason we had to shut down the facility. We do not have bathroom availability and we also don’t have internet, which means no system for any of the county employees. Fortunately, we were able to act quick.”
It is the second time in the last year that Ector County Courthouse has experienced flooding.
Last April, a flood was caused by a failure in the pop-off valve for the hot water expansion tank, causing the courthouse to close all day.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened inside the courthouse,” Fawcett said. “Our county clerk is always prepared for these kinds of situations. There were significant amounts of equipment and tarps to cover all of their computers. Unfortunately, there were some records that had some damage but we were able to move as much as possible. We think we preserved a majority of everything. We did have some concerns with some of the case files down there. Some of them were finger prints of cases and many criminal cases so that was one of our biggest concerns. We had to make sure we were able to take care of all the criminal case records.”
Whereas last year’s flooding affected most of the courthouse, Monday’s incident was isolated to just the first floor and basement.
“This is a different animal,” Fawcett said when comparing last year’s flooding to Monday’s. “Last year’s incident began in the third floor and seeped down all three floors. This one is much more isolated. But the more concerning element is our servers and our records are the majority of what’s downstairs so it’s a different type of flood than what we faced last year.”
Fawcett said that no courtrooms were affected by the flooding.
“It is just one isolated area on the first floor, the County Clerk’s office and in the basement so it does not affect any of the courtrooms. … No courtrooms were involved in this,” Fawcett said.
No trials were also scheduled to take place on Monday.
“We were fortunate that we had no jury trials today,” Fawcett said. “We had just finished with some jury paneling that took place on the third floor. As soon as they were done, we removed everyone including the employees. It’s just a safety hazard when you don’t have functioning bathrooms. It’s not a good condition for a workspace.”
Odessa Teen Court was canceled for the day due to the closure.
Fawcett said he expects the courthouse to open back up at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
“We do anticipate that we should be able to have everything taken care of,” Fawcett said. “We’re going to see how damaged the facility and the Clerk’s office but we should be back up and running (Tuesday).”
Ector County Building Maintenance Director Billy Carrigan said he was at the Ector County Annex on Monday when he heard about the flooding at the courthouse.
“I was at the annex and got a call from the Clerk’s Office saying that they had water coming down from the ceiling and ceiling tiles caving in. Upon arrival, we saw that we had massive flooding going on in the first floor which leaked down into the basement so we had quite a bit of water coming through the building so we shut off the water to the entire building in order to isolate the leak. Then we had to shut down. The problem with what happened is it’s a plumbing issue is that it’s a cap that broke loose. It was an old iron fitting that had deteriorated to the point that it gave way. We have just old systems in the building. We’re always having to maintain and update some of the plumbing. … It’s always something that’s breaking loose. This is the second time we’ve had flooding in the last two years. We had flooding last year from the room in the third floor. … We’re still doing carpet replacement from the last flood. The county clerk’s office carpet was just replaced a few years ago. It’s not just a matter of replacing a ceiling tile or fixing a plumbing leak. It creates all kinds of other damage.”
Over the years, Ector County Courthouse has been showing signs of deterioration.
Ector County has been looking at replacing the current courthouse.
Last month, county commissioners took the first step toward a new courthouse with three voting to move forward a design build concept and a request for qualifications and specifications and master services agreement for the building of a new Ector County Courthouse.
More details on that can be read at https://www.oaoa.com/local-news/county-takes-first-step-toward-new-courthouse/.
“This has been happening for years,” Fawcett said of Monday’s flooding. “It goes back to the condition of the courthouse when it was built and there has not been a significant upgrade in the facility. This is why we’re looking at a new facility. It’s why we went out for a bond in the November 2025 election because we’re seeing these things that are expediting. We have issues with our elevators literally every day … the building has simply out served its functional ability. We’re at the lifespan of this facility and it’s time to build another one.”
“This is one of the many reasons we need a new courthouse. It’s no longer functional. Whenever you can’t continue to hold courts day after day and reset hearings or vacate a premise, it’s not conducive. This, along with the elevators, alongside some of the health concerns, we’re going to push for a new courthouse. The community needs it. We’re long past due. We’re sinking significant amount of funds into this courthouse. Sooner or later, we’re going to realize there’s no more lipstick that we can put on this pig. It is a pig and no amount of lipstick will change what we have going on right now.”
