County hits snag with North Shoppes detention pond construction

Environmental factors and a change in calculations are delaying the buildout of a detention pond slated for the Shoppes at North Village.

St. Joseph Civil Engineering Firm — Snyder & Associates has been hired to construct the detention pond in the northeast corner of the North Shoppes.

Representatives from the firm delivered an update during the Buchanan County Commissioners’ meeting on Wednesday morning.

A detention pond is a basin that holds storm water and gradually releases it to prevent flooding and erosion.

The Buchanan County Commissioners’ Office identified the need for water diversion in the area as the potential for business development continues to grow.

“This pond has been designed for any development that happens there (at the North Shoppes),” Snyder & Associates Business Unit Leader Andy Macias said. “So there’s a certain percent of impervious versus pervious that the detention is designed for to capture that water.”

The plans for the detention pond were finished about a year ago, however, the City of St. Joseph recently revised its storm water ordinance and its methodology for calculating runoff while Snyder & Associates worked on the original plan.

“The original plans were for the old method and so we had to redo it for the new method,” Macias said.

Snyder & Associates must also follow environmental criteria while removing trees in the area.

“The big thing with the trees is the Indiana bats,” Macias said. “These can be removed during the winter months when the bats aren’t roosting, so this is the time to do it.”