Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This research project evaluates the effectiveness of the Kensington Woods stormwater management pond located in James City County, Virginia. The watershed that feeds this pond is a small 40-lot community that spans over 10.84 acres of a previously undeveloped forested area. This small watershed is entirely located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The main purpose of this project is to analyze the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) at reducing the effects that suburbanization has on a watershed, because to date there have been few studies completed on the effectiveness of these BMPs. The particular type of BMP that is focused on is the wet retention pond, because it is one of the most widely used. The Kensington Woods retention pond is an ideal site for this study because the watershed of this pond was originally a forested environment, this watershed, as well as the surrounding area, have recently and are currently undergoing rapid development this area of the country is susceptible to a high frequency of thunderstorms and occasional tropical storms and hurricanes, and the regulations on stormwater management ponds in James City County, Virginia are more progressive than those of the rest of the state. Several key results were found from this study. The design volumes for the retention pond were very similar to the as-built pond volume. The retention pond meets two of the three design suggestions given by the EPA. Peak inflows and outflows for small events tended to be higher than expected. Finally, the centroid lags and runoff coefficients for the storm events tended to be higher than expected.
Date Awarded
2008
Department
Geology
Advisor 1
Gregory S. Hancock
Recommended Citation
Bonnette, Ryan, "The Effects of Suburbanization and Stormwater Management in the Kensington Woods Subdivision" (2008). Geology Senior Theses. William & Mary. Paper 190.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/geologyseniors/190
