Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco Extension Agents team up for virtual stormwater pond workshop

Healthy Ponds, Healthy Communities:
Sign up for Extension workshop about importance, maintenance, of stormwater ponds

There are hundreds of ponds in the Tampa Bay area. Many of them are in subdivisions.

Properly maintained stormwater ponds are beneficial. They help prevent flooding, provide an aquatic environment for native plants and animals, and look nice.

How do residents ensure the ponds in their neighborhood are serving these functions?

Extension agents with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will hold a virtual workshop beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19, to discuss the value of ponds and how to care for them. The Extension experts are from Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties.

Learn more and sign up for the Healthy Ponds for Healthy Communities workshop. Registration is required to participate.

The session will address the purpose of stormwater ponds, their advantages and potential drawbacks when mismanaged, and how to keep them healthy.

When functioning correctly, a pond protects yards and streets by holding stormwater funneled its way through gutters, swales, or ditches.

But even well-designed ponds filled with grass clippings, leaves, trash, and unwanted plants can't handle heavy rains. Excess water accumulates where it's not wanted, threatening homes and yards. If a pond is tainted with fertilizers, pesticides, oil, pet waste, and other troublesome substances the overflow also can damage the surrounding environment.

The workshop is intended to show homeowners and HOA representatives how to prevent this from happening. The discussion is especially timely in August, when the Tampa Bay area historically receives the most rainfall annually.