Retention Pond Safety There are a few different issues with the retention ponds. The first step is to assess the threat that the retention ponds pose. That means developing means by which pollutants can be evaluated. The governmental guidelines will allow for specific amounts of specific pollutants. With the controlled discharges, it is important to know whether or not the discharges are within the mandated guidelines. Thus, the first step is to actually measure what is in those ponds, prior to their discharge. Measuring the contaminants in the sediment is a good place to start, but understanding the amount of pollutants in the water is also important because the water itself will be spilled if there is any flooding.

There is also significant risk should the ponds overflow. The overflow would run across tarmac surfaces and enter the nearby creek without losing any of the contaminants. This issue arises especially when outlets to the creek are open, or if they are open during heavy rain events. There is a higher risk to the public if the creek runs through residential or recreational...

The access points by which the pond can flood into the creek should be capable of managing the normal heavy rains for the area, in order to prevent unwanted discharge into the creek. This means that the borders of the pond may need to be raised, such as with a small dyke, above the surface level, to ensure that heavy rains will not cause the retention pond to flood (Jones, Guo, Urbonas & Pittinger, no date).
Diverting rainwater away from the pond might also help.. If at present rainwater is likely to flow into the pond, this increases the risk of flooding that is posed even by normal rainfall events. The creation of channels to divert water is more costly than increasing the depth of the via a dyke, but it would also allow for better control of heavy rains, taking those rains directly to the creek and away from the pond. This will reduce the time it takes the pond to flood, decreasing the likelihood of a flood even occurring.

Another tactic is remedial cleanup of the pond. The land on which the pond sits risks contamination if the sediments or buildup on the…