The City is updating its Watershed Master Plan to use for flood-risk planning, preparedness and emergency response. To seek local feedback, the City has set up a webpage, which includes an online map to report problem areas, explains the purpose of the study and provides some frequently asked questions.
Citizens and stakeholder feedback is key to the Watershed Master Plan update and all input will be shared with the consultant. To learn more about the project and to report concern areas, Click Here.
Residents and business owners can share input using the online Drainage Concern Map, an interactive tool that allows users to pin locations where they have noticed drainage concerns, briefly describe the issue and upload photos.
Representatives of Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs), Levee Improvement Districts (LIDs) and other drainage entities are urged to contact the City to receive a questionnaire that will allow them to provide further details and input on the drainage systems and resources in their jurisdiction.
“This update to our Watershed Master Plan is critical to the City’s flood abatement efforts, emergency preparedness and response,” said City Manager Odis Jones. “We look forward to the community’s responses about problem areas of which we may not be aware. This feedback will aid in better addressing flooding concerns going forward.”
A watershed is an area of land that directs rainfall runoff to a single outfall location, such as a water body or channel, based on topography or due to underground drainage networks. A watershed master plan, or drainage master plan, is an assessment of all the existing watersheds in a region, including an evaluation of existing development, major drainage features, runoff conditions and the impact on downstream systems, as well as a plan to handle drainage for future development. Although there have been minor updates in recent years, the last comprehensive update to the Missouri City Drainage Master Plan took place in November 1987.
The scope and expected outcomes of this master plan update include:
- Understanding Missouri City’s roles and responsibilities in drainage;
- Identifying areas within the City’s watersheds that have not been similarly studied by Fort Bend County and other agencies;
- Completing strategic updates to existing master plans to meet the City’s immediate needs, with a focus on emergency preparedness and response;
- Evaluating impacts of backwater from the Brazos River at identified strategic points within City limits; and
- Inundation mapping: This update will evaluate what-if scenarios based on local rainfall, as well as high Brazos River backwater conditions.
The study is expected to take about a year, with the Watershed Master Plan update scheduled to be completed by Fall 2021.
Residents wanting to know who maintains their local drainage system or has more questions on this project can contact the City at 281.403.8500.
For more information about Missouri City, please watch the City website: www.missouricitytx.gov, like us on Facebook—fb/MissouriCityTX, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat—@MissouriCityTX and Nextdoor, watch Missouri City Television (Ch. 16 on Comcast and Ch. 99 on AT&T U-verse) or download the MCTX Mobile app (available for free in Google Play and the Apple app store.)