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ARS Home » Plains Area » Temple, Texas » Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #312712

Title: Hydrologic modeling of detention pond

Author
item KANNAN, NARAYANAN - Texas Agrilife Research
item JEONG, JAEHAK - Texas Agrilife Research
item Arnold, Jeffrey
item GLICK, ROGER - City Of Austin
item GOSSELINK, LEILA - City Of Austin
item SRINIVASAN, RAGHAVAN - Texas Agrilife Research

Submitted to: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/21/2013
Publication Date: 2/1/2014
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/60419
Citation: Kannan, N., Jeong, J., Arnold, J.G., Glick, R., Gosselink, L., Srinivasan, R. 2014. Hydrologic modeling of detention pond. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology. 3(2):657-552.

Interpretive Summary: Impervious surfaces in urban watersheds like parking lots and rooftops can increase the risk of flooding. Many cities use detention ponds to store stormwater runoff and reduce flooding and erosion. In this study, the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model was modified to simulate urban detention ponds and applied to an urban watershed in Austin, Texas. The model was shown to be a useful tool in designed detention ponds to reduce flooding and erosion in urban watersheds.

Technical Abstract: Urban watersheds produce an instantaneous response to rainfall. That results in stormwater runoff in excess of the capacity of drainage systems. The excess stormwater must be managed to prevent flooding and erosion of streams. Management can be achieved with the help of structural stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs). Detention ponds is one such BMP commonly found in the Austin, TX, USA. The City of Austin developed a plan to mitigate future events of flooding and erosion, resulting the development and integration of stormwater BMP algorithms into the sub-hourly version of the SWAT model. This paper deals with the development of a physically based algorithm for detention pond. The algorithm was tested using a previously flow-calibrated watershed in the Austin area. From the test results obtained it appears that the detention pond algorithm is functioning satisfactorily. The algorithm developed could be used a) to evaluate the functionality of the individual detention pond b) to analyze the benefits of such structures a watershed or higher scales and c) as design tool.