Detention Pond / Retention Pond

You like potato, I like potahto; you like tomato, I like tomahto. But oh, if it comes to detention and retention, let's not call the whole thing off.

A detention pond is a low lying area designed to temporarily hold a set amount of water while slowly draining to another location. They are more or less around for flood control when large amounts of rain could cause flash flooding if not dealt with properly. 
A retention pond is designed to hold a specific amount of water indefinitely.  Usually the pond is designed to have drainage leading to another location when the water level gets above the pond capacity, but still maintains a certain capacity.
How to remember which is which? A trick I use. If one gets detained, it is until they get bailed. If one is retained, who knows! 

Extracted from this article. Happy Friday.