Storm Water Management Ponds

A presentation by: Matt Brewer, Jordan Faubert, Nathan Dehaan, Matt Dodgson, Jamie Craig,

Brian Faneca and Drew Cowell

A man-made pond used to collect rain water running off of buildings and roads.

Used to prevent flooding. They are typically placed behind subdivisions

in big cities. If a small town has one they usually place it

out of the public eye within the town limits.

What is it?

The main purpose of a storm water management pond is to prevent flooding in urban areas, as the water from storm drains needs somewhere to go.

Main Purpose

Image of storm drain working to stop floods in Toronto.

There are two types of storm water management ponds, wet and dry.

Wet ponds will always have some amount of water in them, usually only leaving the bottom filled with sediments when cleared out.

Dry ponds will periodically get completely drained.

Two Types of Ponds

Once enough time has passed for the sediments to fall to the bottom of the pond it will be partially drained.

This water then is pumped out to a close body of water such as a creek, pond, or lake.

This could also partially explain why Lake Erie looks the way it does.

Where does the water go?

Design Concept

Constant maintenance is required to keep a storm water management pond running, some things that need to be maintained are:

Water gates and valves. The banks to avoid major erosion. Removal of excess vegetation causing

problems. Removal of sediments and debris.

Maintenance

According to the city of Hamilton in 2007, it cost roughly $63,000 to maintain the cities storm water management pond.

These costs are derived from many things such as; pipe repairs and clogs, vegetation management, underwater surveys and rain event inspections.

Additional costs that don’t occur annually reach around $6100

These costs come from sediment removal, inspection and disposal and vegetation maintainance.

Monetary Cost

Prevents flooding Much more inexpensive than filtering the

storm water in to the water system used by the city.

Take strain off of the sewage system. Prevent places that would have gotten the

most of the rain from becoming too eroded.

Advantages

As the water from storm management ponds goes in to nearby creeks, natural lakes, and ponds there is an environmental cost.

The storm water management pond only catches solid sediments such as litter, broken down pieces of roads, and animal feces.

The current filtration system for chemical and liquid agents caught by the pond is the rocks and sand along to way to the nearby body of water.

Environmental Cost

This leaves many harsh chemicals such as gas emissions and oil leaks basically unattended to re-entering the nearby natural body of water.

Environmental Cost (cont.)

To avoid negative effects on the environment one of two things can be done.

Install a proper man-made filtration system that will clean up the water and add it to the water we use at home.

Or install a similar man-made filtration system that will allow the water to enter the natural body of water without any negative effects to it.

What can be done?

1) How often do storm water management ponds need to be cleaned out

a) 2-5 years

b) 5-10 years

c) 10-20 years

d) 35-50 years

2) Why are storm water management ponds used, what are their main purpose?

a) Too look pretty and do nothing

b) To re-populate endangered fish and give animals a place to drink fresh water

c) Water supply for surrounding area

d) Prevent flooding, erosion and filters pollutants of water

3) What are the main parts of a storm water management pond

a) Inflow, emergency overflow, riser and outflow

b) Fish, seaweed, emergency overflow and inflow

c) Water, filter, inflow and emergency overflow

d) Emergency over-run, lifeguard station, alligators and turtles

4) Storm water management ponds are the best and most efficient design out there

a) True

b) False

5) When are storm water management ponds built

a) After a flood

b) After development of the area

c) Before development of the area

d) Anytime

Multiple Choice Questions

Thank you for watching. Questions?

Refer to research paper for information sources. Images: http://prodimages.vertmarkets.com/image/142078bf/142078bf-

6cab-4918-96b9-18ab0a09c525/original/stormwater.jpg

http://www.blogto.com/upload/2013/07/201379-flood-pool.jpg

http://www.stormwatercenter.net/Manual_Builder/design%20examples/pond/title%20figure.gif

http://www.retentionponds.com/images/pond_rebuild/Pond-Rebuild2.jpg

http://buildipedia.com/images/masterformat/Channels/Operations/Stormwater_Maintenance_White_Paper/Image_3.jpg

http://www.richmondhill.ca/images/subpage/headwaters_park_small.jpg

Sources