That body of water beyond our backyard generally doesn’t exist.
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← Meanwhile, smelly poo Jun 15th, 2015 at 4:35:06 pm →
Nov 4, 2020 at 12:11 pm
It’s sunny and 68°F in my neck of the neighborhood. I have windows…
Sep 8, 2020 at 10:10 am
I’m not really a rainy day person and the gray skies get old…
Jun 30, 2020 at 8:26 am
It looked like there was a Saharan sand storm in the sky last night….
Living or owning property in Iowa in ‘93 and ‘08 taught me things happen. I know I am correct about ‘93 but I may be a year or 2 or off considering ‘08.
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Here’s another photo from that same day. I walked a bit closer to the “lake” and it was a regular cold, bubbling spring.
Funny how, when the retention pond fills up, a crowd will soon gather and go swimming.
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As a municipal engineer, I’m gonna say that swimming in the retention pond is NOT recommended. :P
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Not recommended from which standpoint?
I’m not trying to be jerky, I’m just completely dumb about such things.
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No worries :)
Those ponds perform two functions. First, when you pave an area, water runs off faster and doesn’t soak in. The pond catches the water and releases it slowly so that you don’t have a huge shock to the river. The pond will tend to be subject to sudden changes in water level, which can be dangerous.
Second, as water runs through the streets and storm drains, it picks up all sorts of pollutants, like oil, dog crap, dissolved metals (lead, mercury, etc), bacteria and viruses (such as E.coli and others) and other industrial chemicals and whatnot. The pond is designed to trap these things so that they don’t reach the river. So basically the pond is a stew of things you don’t want on your skin.
Additionally, there is some risk of cross-contamination from the sanitary sewer system (that’s the toilet waste one). And finally, any water body designated for swimming within a city is monitored for bacteria, etc and signs are posted to close the beach if it’s unsafe. Retention ponds are not monitored, so you don’t know if there are dangerous levels of bacteria or algae growth or any of the other stuff water picks up in the streets.
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Wonderful writeup! Thankies. And you’re totally right about the sudden changes in water level. I’ve seen it fill to the brim (maybe more than 9’ deep?) in a matter of minutes.
I hadn’t considered the dissolved metals and other fine ingredients aspect.
Let the record show that I have only been in the retention pond once after heavy rains.
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