Balancing Ponds can be used in sustainable garden designs to hold and store flood water in times of excessive rainfall.
The drainage in a garden is designed to be directed underground through a series of pipes of over land through gullies, swales and rills to the balancing pond – rather than being diverted straight into land drains.
Balancing ponds are designed to retain a certain volume of water at all times. This not only enhances its performance in removing nutrients, trace metals and organic matter but also can avoid the exposure of banks of collected sediment.
Allowance for a considerable variation in water level during storms is be incorporated in the design, so that a significant storage volume can still be provided.
Wetlands and Reed Beds can be used in combination with balancing ponds to enhance the visual appeal of a garden design. This would mean the incorporation of shallow areas planted with marsh or wetland vegetation. Another bonus is that they provide a much greater degree of filtering of the water.
