A waste pond or chemical pond is a small impounded water body used for the disposal of water pollutants, and sometimes utilized as a method of recycling or decomposing toxic substances. Such waste ponds may be used for regular disposal of pollutant materials or may be used as upset receivers for special pollution events. Often, chemical ponds themselves are addressed for cleanup action after their useful life is over or when a risk of groundwater contamination arises. Peak usage of waste ponds in the United States occurred in the period 1955 to 1985, after which the environmental risks of pond technology were sufficiently understood, such that alternative technologies for waste disposal gradually began to displace many of the waste ponds. Waste ponds often have pond liners, such as concrete or robust synthetic polymeric materials, to prevent infiltration of chemicals to soil or groundwater.
Famous quotes containing the words waste and/or pond:
“We waste our lights in vain, like lamps by day.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The phenomena of the year take place every day in a pond on a small scale. Every morning, generally speaking, the shallow water is being warmed more rapidly than the deep, though it may not be made so warm after all, and every evening it is being cooled more rapidly until the morning. The day is an epitome of the year. The night is the winter, the morning and evening are the spring and fall, and the noon is the summer. The cracking and booming of the ice indicate a change of temperature.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)