Atlanta Stormwater Pond Maintenance Helps Prevent Costly Failures

Atlanta stormwater pond maintenance benefits and guidance from Dragonfly Pond Works.

Zack Watson- Georgia Client Service Manager

Is Your Atlanta Stormwater Retention Pond a Major Liability?

Stormwater ponds provide a variety of important benefits for local communities and areas downstream. Unfortunately, improperly maintained stormwater systems leave responsible parties vulnerable to liability issues and costly, surprise expenditures. Our Atlanta Stormwater Management specialists explain the purpose of retention ponds, highlight an example of a major failure that was preventable, and provide expert advice on avoiding such failures and costly repairs with a quality stormwater pond maintenance plan.

This community dam failed during heavy storms. The failure could have been prevented with routine stormwater pond maintenance.

What Is the Purpose of a Stormwater Retention Pond?

Stormwater retention ponds are engineered devices that are designed to properly manage water quantity while also protecting and improving water quality. Stormwater runoff enters the pond where it is retained before slowly being released out of the system through the riser. The riser controls the amount of water that is released downstream. This helps maintain the desired water level in the retention pond and provides flood control. Sediment and pollutants are filtered out of the runoff via retention and the slow, controlled release of water from the system.

Routine inspections and specialized stormwater pond maintenance are critical to ensuring stormwater devices, including retention ponds, are functioning as designed. Improperly functioning systems are vulnerable to major concerns, such as compliance violations, safety hazards, liability issues, and failures. Our Atlanta Stormwater Management Team was recently contacted by a community HOA with all of those exact concerns. Their dam failed during a major storm resulting in significant damage.

Rising water washed the sediment away from around the outlet structure (left) and through the backside of the dam (right) into the creek channel.

The retention pond dam blew out during heavy storms. Upon our inspection, the whole top of the riser was covered in sticks, leaves, and growing grass. This prevented the system from functioning as designed as water was not able to drain properly from the system due to the clogged riser. The rising water had nowhere to go, so it pushed through the dam.

The entire outlet pipe was exposed after sediment from the dam washed downstream.

The water pushing through the dam resulted in a blowout 25 feet from the top of the dam down to the bottom side of the outlet pipe and 100 feet long. Sediment that came through the blowout washed downstream, possibly creating issues for downstream communities and liability issues for the HOA. Until repairs are completed, future rain events will likely erode away more sediment around the riser sending it downstream. Additionally, the pond water level will continue to drop as there is no dam to retain the water. It is possible that poor compaction when the dam was built contributed to the dam issues, however, routine stormwater pond maintenance that included removing debris from the riser and system component inspection would have prevented this major failure.

Stormwater Pond Maintenance Vs Stormwater Repair Costs

Approximately 4 years ago, this community completed compliance repairs on their retention pond in order to pass county inspection. The repairs included clearing of the dam and outlet structure, resetting the headwall, and erosion repairs. These repairs cost roughly $20,000. Unfortunately, a routine maintenance plan was not initiated which would have reduced future repair costs and helped keep the system functioning as designed. A routine maintenance contract for this retention pond would cost about $2,000 per year. The repairs to the pond following the major dam failure will cost about $250,000. A quality $2,000 per year maintenance plan could have prevented this.

Left: This is the backside of the dam following headwall repairs made 4 years ago.
Right: This is the backside of the dam following the failure.

What Does a Quality Stormwater Pond Maintenance Plan Include?

The most effective way to avoid costly, surprise expenditures is through routine stormwater pond maintenance that includes detailed reporting. Unlike landscaping crews, stormwater management crews receive specialized training and are familiar with stormwater compliance regulations in order to maintain system functionality.

A quality maintenance program should include:

• General inspection and documentation of all structural components

• Removal of trash and debris to prevent system clogging and failure

• Control and removal of nuisance vegetation

• Routine mowing for safe access

• Aquatic and littoral plant management

• Documentation of all maintenance activities

Atlanta stormwater pond maintenance contractors should provide photographic maintenance records that document existing conditions, services completed, and service recommendations.

Dragonfly Pond Works’ stormwater technician checks this riser for clogs as part of a routine pond maintenance visit.

Atlanta Stormwater Pond Maintenance, Stormwater Repairs, & More

Don’t’ let your stormwater pond and community be vulnerable to major failures, safety hazards, and liability issues. Our Atlanta Stormwater specialists possess the experience and certifications to inspect, maintain, and repair your stormwater device with customized solutions. We self-perform the vast majority of our maintenance, repair, and reconstruction work across the Southeast which increases efficiency and decreases cost. All of our services are documented for your records, and we provide detailed reports with photos after every Dragonfly service. We are the trusted experts in Atlanta Stormwater Management. Contact us today to discuss your stormwater needs.

Learn More About Dragonfly Pond Works

Stormwater inspections are required by most municipalities and ensure that your stormwater system is functioning as designed. Our experts explain this process.

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Dragonfly Pond Works provides specialized stormwater & pond maintenance, stormwater inspections, stormwater compliance repairs, and more in Atlanta, Athens, Savannah, Georgia, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Wilmington, North Carolina, Tampa, Sarasota, Naples, St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, Florida, and Columbia, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.