The purpose of detention ponds is to regulate the amount of outfall water after a big rain to prevent flooding.
Storm water detention ponds provide general flood protection and can also control extreme floods. The ponds help manage the excess runoff generated by newly constructed impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots and rooftops.
While most detention ponds are created to satisfy local govement regulations for storm water detention, they also function to trap pollutants in runnoff. They are not always going to look look like a natural pond or lake, but, when properly designed and maintained, can provide a functional and attractive feature of the property.
Signs of Detention Pond Degradation
Erosion
Existing detention ponds are prone to degradation from contaminates, erosion and sedimentation. Erosion can be caused by steep side slopes, excessive soil moisture, poor soil types or a lack of deep-rooted vegetation. Erosion causes sedimentation, which reduces the pond’s water volume and contributes to turbidity.
Poor Water Quality
As storm runoff water enters a detention pond, the contaminates and sediment are often suspended in the water, stiffling aquatic plants and fish growth. The contaminates often include the nutrients phosphorous and nitrogen from lawn fertilizers and animal waste. Algea thrives in these environments, and contributes to the degradation of a pond’s ecosystem.
Remediation of a Detention Pond
1. Problem: Water flowed in from up top and created a major washout.
2. The water shed came from the parking lot and from the wash rack area.
3. Solution: A pipe was installed and buried to redirect water and ensure the integrity of the pond.
4. Pipe installed and concrete poured
5. Daniel Dean placed a berm at the edge of the slope and a slight swell in front of it to drain the water into the pond through our new back slope interceptor.
Some of Our Work
Daniel Dean digs new detention ponds and reconstructs / remindiates existing detention ponds. Below are general construction photos of detention pond site work by Daniel Dean.
