Wet Detention Basin Maintenance
The need for diverting water increases as residential communities and urban development continues to grow and stormwater runoff overwhelms city sewers. Stormwater runoff collects pollutants, debris, and chemicals as it moves over paved surfaces and into natural water bodies such as creeks, rivers, and lakes. It also causes erosion damage, flooding, altering aquatic environments. Building a basin near sources of such runoff is a common stormwater management practice. Basins collect stormwater and then release it at a controlled flow rate to prevent erosion and flooding, and improve water quality to adjacent natural water bodies. One type of basin is a wet retention pond, also called a stormwater wet detention pond.
STORMWATER RETENTION PONDS
IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF BIORETENTION STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
A stormwater wet detention basin helps control both stormwater quantity and quality. Wet detention ponds are vegetated systems designed to hold a permanent pool of standing water at all times with additional capacity during and after a rain event. They are designed to capture, store, and treat stormwater runoff with discharges controlled by an engineered device. By holding water back like a dam, wet retention ponds help prevent potential flood damage to nearby communities and minimize erosion in the nearby area and along the banks of downstream water bodies. The captured water is pre-treated to help improve water quality in surrounding and downstream water bodies.
Stormwater retention ponds are typically surrounded by natural vegetation to improve bank stability and improve aesthetic benefits. This landscape typically includes a variety of grass, shrubs, and wetland plants. This vegetation offers numerous benefits, including removing soluble nutrients through uptake and minimizing the transfer of pollutants and chemicals into nearby water bodies.
Some other benefits of stormwater retention ponds include:
- Assists with flood prevention and management
- Improves water quality in surrounding water bodies
- Aesthetically appealing
- Minimizes downstream erosion of natural water bodies
- Increases biodiversity
- Provides habitats for wildlife
- Assists with water conservation
AQUALIS PROVIDES RETENTION POND MANAGEMENT SERVICES
AQUALIS specializes in maintaining, rehabilitation and repair of effective wet retention ponds that balance stormwater best management practices and biological functions to help preserve the ecological integrity of our water resources. Our retention pond solutions effectively capture and slow stormwater runoff to prevent downstream flooding and erosion while improving water quality in surrounding water bodies. Not only do our stormwater management systems ensure full compliance with all regulatory guidelines, they reduce environmental impact while achieving optimal functionality, performance, and maintainability.
Retention ponds are typically found in urban and residential areas with large amounts of impervious surfaces, such as shopping centers, apartment complexes, parks, and other large paved areas.
Stormwater wet detention ponds are designed to accept and store stormwater during highwater events. This increases the overall flood storage of a system and reduces damages caused by flooding by retaining stormwater long enough to reduce the peak flow downstream. Water is diverted to a wet retention pond by a network of underground pipes connecting storm drains to the pond. The pond’s natural processes then work to remove pollutants. The system allows for large amounts of water to enter the pond, and the outlet empties controlled amounts of water to a downstream water body. Through our maintenance programs, we monitor, provide inspections, and alert property owners to any deficiencies that may impact the pond.
We can assist with maintenance and repair of wet retention for residential, commercial, industrial, municipal, and governmental sites. Before we develop a bioretention stormwater management plan, an AQUALIS consultant will perform an initial site assessment to determine your stormwater management needs. Based on the information collected from this visit and our best practices, we will develop a plan that fits your unique site needs.
We rehabilitate stormwater retention ponds in a timely manner and will also manage your stormwater inspection program to ensure that your system is always in compliance. AQUALIS representatives can conduct training to help you understand how to properly maintain a retention pond area to ensure that future stormwater samples are collected, reporting is conducted, and other documentation is done correctly.
LET AQUALIS MANAGE YOUR RETENTION POND MAINTENACE SYSTEMS
At AQUALIS, we understand that ongoing maintenance is critical to the performance of a stormwater retention pond system. Without regular maintenance, the system will eventually fail due to sediment buildup, excessive vegetation and structural issues, and routine upkeep can prevent costly rehabilitative and restorative repairs. We offer comprehensive maintenance and regular servicing solutions to ensure your retention pond operates correctly and reduce costly repairs in the future.
For example, we will inspect the underground drainage pipes to ensure they are not clogged or blocked so the ponds and basins can function properly. We will also identify and repair embankment erosion, remove sediments and debris around the pond before they reach the pipes and outlets, and maintain the surrounding vegetation. Using our certified stormwater best management practices inspection, our specialized maintenance professional will manage and submit all the necessary inspections and required annual reports for you.
AQUALIS is a nationwide leading provider of water resource management services to residential, commercial, industrial, municipal and governmental industries through stormwater and wastewater consulting, inspection, maintenance, industrial vacuum, jetting, and repair services. Contact us to help you properly plan, develop, install, and maintain your stormwater retention pond.
