Asphalt is one of the most popular and – when applied by an experienced team – resilient materials in America today, with a broad spectrum of uses ranging from sidewalks and soil stabilization to runways and parking lots. Some of the 350 million metric tons of asphalt produced annually in the U.S. can also be an excellent material for use in the water management of bodies of water like reservoirs and retention ponds.
These basins carry a lot of responsibility along with all that water, because they’re responsible for helping preserve people, property, and wildlife. This guide will walk you through why these basins are necessary, how asphalt can help with their water management, and who you can call for the most reliable asphalt work in Maryland.
The Need for Reliable Runoff Management
Retention ponds and reservoirs play a crucial role in protecting communities and ecosystems from the damaging effects of stormwater overflow, including soil erosion and the distribution of pollutants such as toxic chemicals and raw sewage. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attests to the great importance of managing this issue, highlighting how proactive stormwater planning and maintenance improve quality of life and make communities more resilient and economically sound.
How Retention Ponds and Reservoirs Work
These basins are designed to catch, contain, and eventually empty all the water they hold into a receiving water body. The role is temporary, but the structures themselves are intended to stand permanently. Well-constructed and managed reservoirs and ponds can continue to perform for many years, while those that are poorly designed and maintained eventually become liabilities. Here are some tasks they are created to handle:
1. Basic Basin Design
Retention basins catch and store stormwater overflow via a low-flow orifice that works in conjunction with a concrete or metal structure called a riser. This vertical pipe extends from the basin bottom and houses the control devices that regulate the discharge rates for a specific design.
2. Retentions Ponds Reduce Pollution and Boost Water Quality
Retention ponds do more than store stormwater runoff; they also aid in treating it. The natural sedimentation and biological uptake processes in standing ponds help break down any pollutants left behind by stormwater runoff.
3. Environmental Benefits
Retention ponds provide water and habitat to wildlife, vegetation, and insects.
Asphalt can play a powerful role in keeping basins and communities strong. It does so by helping retain stormwater long enough to give risers sufficient time to operate while ensuring that enough water seeps away to prevent overflowing. Blending asphalt to levels that allow efficient (but not excessive) absorption of stormwater requires a team that’s well-versed in its composition and application.
6 Ways Asphalt Can Aid Water Retention Management
There is no better word to describe asphalt than “practical.” It is more likely to succeed when applied to retention ponds and reservoirs in chillier climates than the strongest concrete. Asphalt can also boast a favorable environmental profile while providing commercial and residential site managers with a much more cost-effective way to meet their design responsibilities.
1. Landscaped Banks to the Permanent Pool
This is a primary way asphalt can help water management of retention ponds and reservoirs. Asphalt landscaping leading down to the permanent pool prevents erosion of the most vulnerable part of a retention pond – its natural soil banks – thus providing a solid barrier that helps contain runoff to the desired height and volume.
2. Tried and Tested for Reservoirs
Asphalt has long been an extremely dependable barrier hydraulic construction, particularly in providing reservoirs and dams with an impermeable liner. Engineers often incorporate asphalt from the design stage onward due to its ability to complement drainage, prevent seepage, absorb loading stresses, and provide erosion control.
3. Greater Resilience Means Superior Physical and Financial Performance
Asphalt is much better suited to reservoirs and retention ponds where the climate is similar to Maryland’s harsh winters. Concrete is more prone to frost heave and cracking in cold conditions, making it more likely to weaken a reservoir or retention basin’s performance and leave it more in need of repeated – and thus more costly – maintenance. The bitumen binder of asphalt allows it to have greater flexibility, with asphalt also being an overall cheaper installation than concrete.
4. Asphalt Can Be Applied More Quickly
Not every standing water body has embankments built into the design. Basins with this vulnerability can be shielded with asphalt faster than with concrete, meaning commercial and residential locations can quickly bring their reservoir or retention pond up to EPA expectations and management standards.
5. Professionals Can Maintain Asphalt Easily
Retention ponds and reservoirs get hit with a lot of debris carried along by stormwater, including anything from cooking oil and chemicals to Styrofoam and cigarette butts. This can wear a retention pond’s asphalt components down over time, but regular expert maintenance can do much to mitigate that. Swift removal of detritus also helps to preserve the pond’s drainage.
6. Asphalt Is More Environmentally Responsible
Asphalt has a far greener profile than many might assume, making it the perfect complement to retention basins and reservoirs designed to filter pollutants. Asphalt has also saved America billions or many years due to its recyclability and lower energy requirements.
Frequent wet weather is an ongoing concern for retention basins in or around businesses and residential premises in Maryland. This creates a more significant water management challenge and makes integrating the proper controls essential.
Asphalt professionals can help water managers better handle their responsibilities by giving them site-specific advice from first planning to ongoing maintenance. The resulting asphalt solutions can aid facilities in staying compliant with local, state, and EPA regulations.
Contact the Experts With Any Questions
Water management is an essential factor in community health and safety, and asphalt embankments can provide stormwater solutions that deliver optimal performance. The experienced pros at Limitless Paving & Concrete can walk you through the entire asphalting process so you can better understand how much it can help.
We specialize in any form of paving and have completed many commercial and public projects you see every day in and around the greater Maryland area. Contact us today to provide more details and get a free, no obligation quote.
