On Monday, October 3, 2022, a small ceremony was held on a dirt road about a half mile to the north of 267th Street, towards the back of the Glen Eagle subdivision.
And while the ceremony was by no means colorful or spectacular, it signaled a new era for Harrisonville residents.
During the ceremony, Mayor Judy Bowman, the Board of Aldermen, various members of City staff and representatives from Dirks Heavy Excavators and the Missouri Prairie Foundation officially dedicated the new Muddy Creek Regional Detention Basin (MCRB). This hope for this new tool is that it will limit potential flooding during periods of heavy rain – especially for those living on the southwest end of town.
“We understand that we cannot stop a 100 or a 500-year rain, but we can work together as a City and as a community to mitigate the impact that it has on our residents. And that is what I believe we have done here,” Mayor Bowman said.
Here are some quick facts about the MCRB
- The basin will control runoff from 955 Acres.
- The basin will store 9,526,572 cubic feet of water, which breaks down to 71,258,759 gallons or 207,298,208 Route 44 cups from Sonic.
- The basin will reduce the 100-year flood flows from 2,907 cubic feet/sec to 210 cubic feet/sec. In other words, it reduces flows in this area by 93-percent.
Here’s how the basin will work.
When heavy rains come, water will flow into Muddy Creek and then move downstream. When that water arrives at the basin it will hit a dam and then flow into the low areas of the basin, until the water reaches an intake valve. Only the water that can fit through this valve will be allowed to move down stream. All other stormwater will be held in the basin until the rain stops and the water level recedes enough for it to move through the valve. This will limit excess water from moving through the lower Muddy Creek Watershed.
The construction of this basin was part of a five-point approach to hopefully limit future flash flooding, after intense flash floods in 2017 and 2019 severely impacted the residents and businesses in the lower Muddy Creek Watershed.
- Hire the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study the Muddy Creek Watershed to determine the source of flooding and make recommendations for mitigation. The City received a grant for this work.
- Develop and implement an inspection program of the culverts and work with the Missouri Department of Transportation to guarantee that they are cleaned out regularly.
- Create a flood warning system. The City has hired the U.S. Geological Survey to install a stream and rainfall gage. They are beta testing the warning system now. The City also received a grant for some of this work.
- Seek Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance for flood buyouts. These applications have been made and are under review in Washington D.C.
- Construct a regional storm water detention basin. The basin was evaluated and endorsed by the Corps of Engineers. The land was donated to the City for this regional basin.
The MCRB was designed by City staff and constructed by Dirks Heavy Excavators from Butler, MO.
While the basin currently looks like an open patch of dirt, we are proud to be partnering with the Missouri Prairie Foundation to plant native plants and flowers throughout the entire basin. This will also help to soak up some of the water that comes into the basin.
Along with the five points mentioned above, work was completed over the winter of 2021 and spring of 2022 to reconstruct the dam and spillways in City Park, which will protect the structures from a breach during periods of heavy rainfall.