Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This research project assesses the effectiveness of the use of storm water management detention ponds in James City County (JCC), VA. JCC is a 144 square mile county, situated between the James and York Rivers on the Middle Peninsula of VA (Figure 1). The entire county is located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Specifically, this project evaluates the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs), in particular wet detention ponds, in minimizing the effects that land use change has produced in stream flows. The JCC area provides an excellent location for studying the use of detention ponds for several reasons. 1) Under natural conditions, the area is forested. Urbanization in JCC may impact streams more profoundly than in other regions, because removal of forested lands significantly lessens the landscape’s ability to infiltrate rainfall. Therefore, detention pond efficiency is critical for the preservation of what remains of JCC’s pristine land. 2) The JCC area is susceptible to intense rainfall events, either during isolated summer thunderstorms, or during the passage of periodic tropical storms. The study of detention ponds in JCC over the next several years hopefully will enable us to analyze pond responses to storm events of varying intensities. 3) JCC is undergoing rapid development, which has increased the importance of the region’s storm water management efforts. Despite the fact that detention ponds are a centerpiece of many storm water management programs, few studies have been conducted to determine if they function in practice in the way they are designed on paper. This study analyzes the effectiveness of two detention ponds in JCC, as part of a wider effort to evaluate storm water management practices in JCC.

Date Awarded

2005

Department

Geology

Advisor 1

Gregory S. Hancock

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