Missouri City City Council authorizes $1.18 million construction contract for Willow Waterhole regional detention

A new regional stormwater detention basin is coming to Missouri City.

During its June 21 meeting, Missouri City City Council unanimously approved a $1.18 million construction contract with Sterling Site Services LLC to build a new detention pond within Stafford city limits off Stafford Centre Drive, but for use by Missouri City as it looks to support its developmental projects and mitigate any potential drainage effects, according to agenda documents.

The new detention basin will expand the storage offered by a basin already located in Missouri City northeast of Pike Road commonly referred to as the Vaccaro Manor Pond. The expansion is needed, according to a 2020 study by engineering consultant Kimley Horn, which showed that the Vaccaro Manor Pond has been utilized to the full extent and additional detention volume was needed for ultimate build-out.

“This system provides drainage mitigation for most of the city limits to the north of US 98,” said Jeremy Davis, Missouri City's assistant city engineer, during the meeting. “There is a need to provide regional detention for this area so we can support new developments in the northern part of the city.”

The detention basin focuses solely on a portion of land that serves Missouri City, despite the watershed, Willow Waterhole, encompassing the cities of Missouri City and Stafford, according to agenda documents. Harris County Flood Control District, which owns the Willow Waterhole channel, mandates additional detention requirements to mitigate development impacts.

When completed, the detention basin will span 14.6 acres and provide enough storage for 76 acre-feet of water, equal to about 24.78 million gallons of water detention.

Missouri City went out to bid in April, with Sterling Site Services the lowest of the three bids the city received, Davis said.

No timeline for the project was provided during the meeting, but according to bid documents, the project will take 70 calendar days to complete when Sterling Site Services receives the notice to proceed.