While taking a stroll around the neighborhood, one might wonder, “What is this open vegetated area with a concrete channel and concrete box structure in my community?”  One might also notice that this area becomes inundated with water after rain events, taking days to drain and possibly causing unideal conditions such as soggy soils and habitat for mosquitoes.  

This area is commonly known as a stormwater detention basin. These facilities are used to improve the quality of urban runoff from roads, parking lots, residential neighborhoods, commercial areas and industrial sites.  

Along with water quality, these basins also reduce peak stormwater runoff rates by providing temporary storage during larger storm events to help protect from flooding events. In addition, the detention pond on your property may provide other benefits such as passive recreation and open space opportunities.  

It is very important to understand that these facilities are designed to hold water after a storm event for up a maximum of 72 hours to ensure that sediment and other pollutants captured by urban runoff are treated before continuing downstream, eventually ending up in our waterways.  However, in some cases these facilities could be holding water for more than 72 hours, creating noxious odors and breeding grounds for undesirable critters.  

Without proper maintenance, these facilities do not function as they are designed and have a chance of eventually failing, releasing even more pollutants downstream and leaving properties at risk for flooding. It is important that you know who is responsible for maintaining these facilities.

Contrary to popular belief, the City of Westminster is only responsible for maintaining around 20 percent of these facilities, most of which are located in city parks and open space. The rest of these facilities are owned and maintained by the property owner, being the residential Home Owners Association (HOA), private/commercial businesses or even special districts.  

Maintenance will always be needed; if maintenance is not done, or not done frequently enough, or properly, a false sense of security exists for the pond’s temporary storage and pollutants removal capabilities during storm events.  

If you see one of these facilities and believe there is maintenance needed, contact your local HOA, private business or local authority.  

For more stormwater related information, please visit the city's stormwater webpage.

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