Cypress Black Bayou Recreation and Water Conservation District was created in 1958 as a community source for irrigation, recreation and municipal use. The District is governed by a Board of Commissioners, each of of whom is appointed a seat by one of the following Bossier Parish bodies: The Police Jury, the School Board, the Bossier Levee District, the Town of Benton and the City of Bossier City. Cypress Lake was flooded in late 1975 and Black Bayou in 1978 (though due to some issues with the spillway, Black Bayou had to be lowered for a time and officially reopened in 1980).
Today, the District owns around 2,500 acres of land surrounding the lakes, 450 of which make up the Cypress Recreation Park. Cypress is the larger of the two lakes at 3,300 acres, while Black Bayou's waters claim 800 acres.
