Stormwater System Report - August 2007

The Village of Oswego, like many other communities, has been faced with many complaints and problems concerning wet bottom detention areas that were constructed within the various developments in the last few years. Many of these have been turned over to a Home Owners’ Association (HOA) to maintain. In almost every case, the HOA has little or no experience or training to handle or deal with these issues.

The Board hosted a community meeting devoted entirely to the pond issue and the associated problems and complaints. The attendance at that meeting was good and we heard from many of the Home Owners Associations as well as individual citizens. This was an excellent first step in airing all of the complaints, problems and issues associated with many of these ponds. Many of the problems or complaints were similar: low water levels, pond isn’t retaining water, weed and algae growth and lack of maintenance. One thing is for certain, there is no easy or inexpensive solution to the problems. These ponds or lakes were created to assist with stormwater issues and since they were constructed in areas where ponds did not previously exist the developer had to create some type of impervious sub-surface liner to hold or retain the water. These artificial ponds will always be susceptible to leaking if the liner is penetrated in any way.