Stormwater Management Ponds (SWMPs) are facilities designed to collect runoff from the local storm sewer system following either a rainfall or snowmelt event, or activities such as watering lawns and washing cars. SWMPs are built to temporarily hold this water, provide treatment to remove the pollutants, and then slowly release it back into our waterways.
In developed areas where driveways, buildings and roads cover the soil, water cannot be absorbed and instead travels over these paved surfaces as runoff, reaching our waterways much more quickly. As it flows over these surfaces, the runoff also collects various pollutants (dirt, fertilizer containing phosphorus and nitrogen) and debris (grass-clippings, paper, cigarette butts).
