retention ponds
Managed runoff collectors
Retention ponds are artificial basins designed to collect and hold stormwater runoff.
Unlike detention ponds, which drain between storms, retention ponds maintain a permanent pool of water.
They serve both practical and aesthetic functions—controlling flooding, filtering pollutants, and often becoming landscape features in suburban developments: The neighborhood was built around a retention pond that attracted geese.
- rain gardensPlanted basins absorbing runoff
- drainage ditchTrench for water runoff
- overflow pipeOutlet for excess liquid
- stormwaterSurface flow from precipitation
- holding waterRemaining credible when tested
infiltration · embankments · flood control · cattails · sedimentation · frogs · catch basin · biodiversity · urban planning · property value · water table · tadpole · dragonflies · mosquito breeding · standing water · berms · habitat restoration · impoundment
retention pondsdrainage channels
Passages directing water away
culverts · spillways · storm drains · French drains · sewer systems
retention pondsnatural lakes
Undammed water basins
glacial lakes · oxbow lakes · wetlands · natural springs · ponds