Stormwater Retention Ponds
Every pond owner must consider maintaining their stormwater retention pond on a regular basis if they are interested in reducing their hidden costs. Thankfully, by being a good steward of water HOA’s and pond owners no longer need be caught off guard.
Stormwater retention ponds are relatively new since the Clean Water Act of 1972 & 1977. This law has brought awareness to the impact of pollutants on our waterways. To improve water quality, runoff stormwater retentions ponds are regularly monitored for efficiency.
Because retention ponds catch nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and organic particles (or sediment) these ponds can explode with growth not seen in a large lake. Combined with the flowing of thousands of gallons of water through the pond on a regular basis and the size of the pond being very small it makes for a recipe for an extremely “moody” pond.
“Moody” ponds grow algae and aquatic weeds in days, not months. The power of water and sun combined with these nutrients can create an explosion of growth adding to the sediment layer. As this sediment layer grows deeper, the pond begins to shrink in depth and loses its effectiveness. As shallower waters are produced with more nutrients, it explodes again with growth in a vicious cycle trying to fill in the pond.
Education on Stormwater Retention Ponds is essential to understanding how this silent giant can be beaten. Recently, we found research done by the University of Minnesota as an independent case study on the maintenance and efficiency of stormwater retention ponds.
Click Here for the FREE Stormwater Retention Ponds: Maintenance vs. Efficiency Report from the University of Minnesota.
Several facts emerged that we found helpful…
- Stormwater retention ponds are designed to remove 40% - 60% of the sediment.
- The Annual cost of maintenance.. $11k-$156k (See chart below)
- Winter excavation is the best time to dredge a stormwater retention pond as reduces the impact on the landscape and gives hard ground to work on.
- Pond maintenance was under-estimated and can occur in less than five years.
- Large or frequent storms can result in heavier sedimentation and sedimentation removal sooner.
- Sedimentation removal excavation can take up to one year of planning.
- A significant portion of pond sedimentation removal is a result of hauling to a disposal site. If maintenance occurs regularly, smaller loads to remove will result in lower costs.
We have seen countless stormwater ponds that have only inches of water in them. Is it any wonder why they are not beautiful? It is hard enough to keep a swimming pool from turning green…let alone a stormwater pond catching everyone’s car wash and lawn fertilizer.
This is why stormwater retention pond maintenance is one of our core beliefs. We believe every pond needs a steward, someone to protect their valuable ecosystem, help plan for their future, and preserve its beauty for generations. Our business currently is serving the Charlotte NC, Asheville NC & Greenville SC markets with pond management.
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