Stormwater Pond Maintenance in the Upstate: Signs Your Pond Needs Repair

If you manage a commercial site or sit on an HOA board in the Upstate, there's a good chance you own a stormwater pond, and Greenville County is clear about whose job it is to keep it working. The HOA or the commercial property owner is responsible for making sure the detention pond on their property functions properly, and the County's Land Development Division inspects maintenance on these ponds (Greenville County).

Most ponds don't fail all at once. They fail slowly, as trees take over the banks, debris builds up at the outlet, and nobody looks at the spillway until a big storm shows the problem.

Signs your stormwater pond needs repair

• Trees, saplings or brush growing on the dam, slopes or spillway
• Roots or debris in the inlet or outlet pipes
• Water sitting higher or longer than it should after a rain
• Bare, washing or sloughing slopes around the pond
• A missing, damaged or clogged skimmer or outlet structure
• Erosion around the spillway or where pipes enter the pond

How often a pond should be checked

Greenville County says mowing and debris removal should happen on a routine basis, generally at least twice a year, and recommends checking for obstructions and damage after major rain events (Greenville County). The County's design manual also requires the responsible party to inspect permanent stormwater facilities periodically under their maintenance agreement and keep records of maintenance and repairs (Greenville County Design Manual).

What a pond rehab looks like: our Gray Court project

We recently rehabbed a stormwater pond at a commercial site in Gray Court. Trees and brush had grown over the spillway and into the inlet pipes, and the pond had no working skimmer. Here's what our crew did:

1. Cleared the trees, brush and roots from the spillway, slopes and inlet pipes
2. Opened up the outlet so water could leave the pond the way it was designed to
3. Set new rip rap and wash stone on the spillway to protect it from erosion
4. Installed and grouted a new skimmer
5. Repaired the slopes and seeded everything to stabilize the ground

The result is a pond that's draining as designed again, before the next heavy rain tests it.

Why it's cheaper to fix a pond early

A spillway with a few saplings is a clearing job. A spillway with mature trees and roots in the pipes becomes a bigger repair, and a pond that's failing an inspection comes with a deadline. Catching problems during routine checks keeps the work smaller and keeps you ahead of the County.

Stormwater pond repair across the Upstate

Renew Land Management is a Navy veteran-owned site contractor based in Greenville, SC. We handle stormwater pond cleanouts and repairs, spillway and outlet work, rip rap, skimmers, slope repair and seeding for commercial sites and HOAs across Greenville, Laurens, Anderson, Spartanburg and Pickens counties. See our utilities and drainage services, or contact us for a free quote.