Detention Ponds

Anyone have an opinion or commentary regarding detention ponds build into the landscaping of front yards.

This is new construction where an underground drainage system from backyard and gutter downspouts are fed to small detention ponds in the front

I’m thinking mosquitoes and other insect infestation is imminent.

Thoughts???

If small children are around i would mention a grill

Looks like a swale to me…its what they use to drain water in neighborhoods…to get it to flow to a designated area.

These are common where I live in FL. You are calling them “ponds”, but are they not ditches where water collects and then dissipates?

These “ponds” or ditches are up and down every road I have seen in FL. :slight_smile:

It’s hard to confirm it’s a pond without seeing where the pond is by your pictures. Along the roadside/driveway I would classify it more as a swale or a ditch. :slight_smile:

I’m guessing it is just a plain old ditch.

-Carl

Yes, but this is the designated area - The pond is approx 5x15 maybe 2 foot deep with a feed from the underground system (1st pic) - it will overflow over the sidewalk when it fills, but is designed as a detention pond. - The builder actually referred to them as retention ponds - Not a ditch as it does not allow for continuous flow out - only when it overflows.

You can’t see it well in the 2nd photo but the bottom end is “closed”

Detention ponds drain to a body of water.

Retention ponds hold water and drain into the ground.

Storm sewers run into a municipal system that does not go to a sewage treatment facility.

Swales channel water around an object for drainage to a safe area.

Detention pond

A stormwater detention pond is an open basin built by excavating below ground or constructing above-ground berms or embankments. The detention pond temporarily stores stormwater runoff and slowly releases it through a specially designed outlet or control structure. Detention ponds typically are designed to drain completely within a few hours or days. Styles vary greatly, from well manicured to natural appearing. Generally, more natural-appearing vegetation is preferred for reduced maintenance and enhanced wildlife habitat. Some facilities are designed to appear as natural water bodies or park-like areas.

http://www.stormwaterpartners.com/facilities/detention.html

I refer to it as a detention pond as I don’t believe it is designed hold water permanently, only as a holding place for storm run off. There is not designated piping for drainage only evaporation

In the Florida summer - these could be full for extended periods of time - hence a mosquito or insect habitat.

So what I am looking for is: Do you address the potential mosquito nuisance

Well, it eventually ends somewhere.

Here where I live it just holds the water until that water soaks into the ground, it does not go into the sewer system. The ditch might go up the whole block and around the corner then they just Dead End and a new ditch starts around the other half of the corner and continues (also with the piping you show under the driveway).

If they over flow then, oh well…ditch wasn’t deep enough. The city/county come and re-dig them about once a year.

-Carl

Retention ponds are an aesthetically pleasing way to treat storm water runoff. Instead of letting rainwater go directly into storm sewers or waterways, retention ponds allow the water to sit and be naturally cleaned. Sediment particles that contain contaminates settle to the bottom so the water that flows out is clean. Ponds can host a variety of plants, can contain fish, and create a comfortable space in the landscape.

Retention ponds can have a permeable bottom so water can filter into groundwater, or they can have an impermeable liner. Water flows in from the source and stays in the pond until it is full or is drained. Ponds are usually deeper than three feet so the water can stay cool, in order to avoid algae growth. Once the water is drained or overflowing, it flows out of the pond and into waterways, cleaner than before.

No, welcome to Florida! :slight_smile: (in my humble opinion)

The city/county will usually come around and spray for insects/critters during unusually long rainy times. Sometimes they don’t and you just have skeeters…lots and lots of skeeters :slight_smile:

-Carl

OK, call it what you want - but it has been built and designed to hold water in the front yard - Heavy daily afternoon rains are prevalent and this area is likely to hold water for extended periods during the summer - How about a hazard for small children?

Front yard ALONG THE ROAD? I already asked that.

In the middle of the front yard?

The whole front yard?

Like I said your picture is not clear.

-Carl

You may even want to find out if along the road, if it is even their property. The ditches in front of my home along the road belong to the city/county.

-Carl

Take pictures of it, put them in your report and tell they have a large watering hole in the front yard.

The ponds (there are two - it’s a duplex) are build alongside the driveways - from the front walk to the sidewalk at the front of the property.

It appears to be a retention pond that is common in Florida as a means of “recharging” the ground water supply. Quite often it’s a requirement in the early entitlement process and is reflective of the developments overall master plan. Think “sink holes”.

As a matter of fact, where that drain pipe is, we all have them on our street. We have a “right of way” of our driveways over the county/city owned “ditch”

They maintain the ditch AND the pipe.

-Carl

A retention pond is designed to hold a specific amount of water indefinitely. Usually the pond is designed to have drainage leading to another location when the water level gets above the pond capacity, but still maintains a certain capacity.

A detention pond is a low lying area that is designed to temporarily hold a set amount of water while slowly draining to another location. They are more or less around for flood control when large amounts of rain could cause flash flooding if not dealt with properly.

Carl, I have seen many of them - in this case the pipe and “Pond” are perpendicular to the street - not parallel as those that are more common that you we typically see