Maintenance of Wet Stormwater Ponds in Ontario

During the last ten to 15 years, wet stormwater management ponds have become an increasingly popular best management practice in Ontario. The performance of a stormwater management pond is time dependent and steadily decreases as sediment accumulation occurs. To remain effective, ponds need to be regularly monitored and sediment must periodically be removed. However, the vast majority of Ontario ponds are not monitored for performance and have yet to be dredged for the removal of accumulated sediment. It is imperative that the costs and execution procedures of pond clean-outs be addressed if stormwater management ponds are to continue to provide effective stormwater management. In this study, the state-of-practice regarding the maintenance of wet stormwater ponds in Ontario is surveyed and analyzed.