DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN (DCP)
Navigating Drought with Missouri City’s Plan
Every year we deal with drought to some degree. Each year varies from little or no rain to replenish water supply to ample rain to decrease concern of water availability. By mandate, the City of Missouri City has a Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) in place to curtail water use during times of drought, water emergency and high usage that require conservation.
Missouri City’s Drought Contingency Plan (“City DCP”) was last amended in 2019 and changes to the plan were approved during the Council meeting on March 17, 2025. There were several significant changes that were implemented into the City DCP plan.
- There are four Response Stages that address mild, moderate, severe and emergency water shortages.
- The criteria for terminating or rescinding a particular stage has been revised. The new requirements allow for a stage to be rescinded only if ALL triggering conditions have ceased to exist for a time period of 10 consecutive days.
- There is now a separation of sections that are dedicated to “surface water” triggers and “groundwater” triggers.
- A detailed breakdown of fines and violations is provided within the City DCP.
Fort Bend County MUD 47 (the “District”) is also required to have a DCP. Since the District’s water is supplied directly from Missouri City, the District’s DCP mirrors the current City DCP. This includes the same Trigger Conditions and Drought Response Measures that are included in the City DCP. This means that when Missouri City activates a particular DCP state, the District will implement the same measures to maintain a unified response within the community.
More detailed information is available at: https://www.missouricitytx.gov/980/Drought-Contingency-Plan and https://www.fbmud47.org/dcp.
