Clemson launches stormwater pond-management website

Published: October 27, 2011

CONWAY — In response to an increasing number of requests from citizens looking for solutions, Clemson University Extension has launched a stormwater pond-management website to help communities manage their stormwater ponds.

Stormwater retention ponds have become common features in urban and suburban landscapes. Driven, in part, by regulations that require structural controls that prevent flooding and protect water quality in downstream rivers and estuaries, they have become one of the most popular stormwater controls for residential and commercial developments.

Many authorities consider stormwater ponds to be private drainage features. It means that, after construction, management and maintenance of stormwater ponds become the responsibility of the property owner, which often is a homeowners association or business owner. 

In many cases, however, the business owners or homeowners association board members are not familiar with stormwater regulations. Nor are they educated in the complexities of pond management, said Ben Powell, Clemson University natural resources agent for the Lower Pee Dee.

Stormwater ponds are important components of community drainage systems, Powell said.

They prevent flooding by suppressing surges of stormwater runoff that wash from lawns, buildings and paved surfaces. They also protect water quality, by holding water long enough to allow gravity and other processes to remove sediment and pollutants before the water is discharged to nearby rivers or beaches.

The new website describes how maintenance problems develop and provides solutions to prevent and repair problems on an array of topics, such as aquatic weed control, shoreline erosion, fish kills, poor water quality, nuisance wildlife and other pond-management issues.

“This website provides residents, homeowner associations, business owners and property managers with real solutions to the challenges of managing stormwater retention ponds,” Powell said.

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