Stormwater Detention Ponds in Urban Catchments—Analysis and Validation of Performance of Ponds in the Ouseburn Catchment, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Abstract

The impact of stormwater drainage and detention ponds on flooding is assessed using statistical analysis and physically based computer simulation of a 45-year case study for a peri-urban catchment. In 1978, the 54 km2 Ouseburn catchment in Newcastle upon Tyne was impacted by the connection of a new 2.1 km2 residential development, directly to the Ouseburn River, via a stormwater drain, which reduced the time to peak and increased flood risk. Further residential developments of 1.6 km2 have been built since 2004, again with separated sewer systems, but this time linked to stormwater detention ponds before draining into the Ouseburn River. Detailed analysis of the data, confirmed with computer simulation, shows that in contrast with the 1978 intervention, these new developments had only a minimal effect on the flows in the Ouseburn River, in fact achieving a small reduction in peak flows for large events. This study assesses the post-construction efficiency of such systems, and we show that the stormwater detention ponds are working as designed.