Effect of baffles on the hydraulic performance of sediment retention ponds

An investigation of the effect of baffles on retention pond performance using a physical model of an existing sediment retention pond is presented. Analysis of residence time (RTD curves) was used to compare the hydraulic performance of different arrangements of baffles in the pond. Five different arrangements for the design of baffles were studied. The results show that placing a single baffle to deflect the influent to a sediment retention pond does not improve pond performance; rather, it stimulates short-circuiting. This is contradictory to the literature and is considered to be a consequence of the model pond incorporating sloping walls, which is a novel aspect of this study. Most of the previous studies have neglected the effects of battered walls. Conversely, the inclusion of more than two baffles was found to increase the hydraulic performance. The results reported here are limited to small and narrow ponds where a large portion of the pond is batter (i.e. made up of sloping walls). For large area ponds, batter effects may be negligible and are likely to be different from those reported here.