Neighborhood Ponds--What Do They Do?

I read about the purpose of ponds on Jax's wastewater pages, but I still don't understand completely the pond in my backyard. I reached out to the email address listed, but I have not received a response after a week, so I figured I'd post the letter here. I've found that sometimes government employees spend time searching online rather than reading emails, and they will come across one of my articles and then contact me. If YOU happen to know the answers to my questions, even if you don't work for Jacksonville, Duval, or JEA, feel free to reach out to me. I think a lot of people in the area would like a better understanding of these ponds.

Here's the email:

Hello,

I am new to the area, and I bought a house in a neighborhood with several ponds, including one in our back yard. When I went to the HOA meeting, nobody there seemed to know whether or how the pond was tied into other ponds or the stormwater system as a whole. This made me worried for several reasons, including the fact that a neighbor said the pond was within a couple of inches from the top (it would drain DOWN towards our homes) during Irma. 

I tried the stormwater GIS map, and I can see the creek across the street being tied into the system, but our pond does not have a node tied to it, which makes me wonder if it's retention rather than detention. 

If the pond is only tied to other ponds in the area, can I find out which one is the last one in the line, or the first to overflow? If it's tied to Tiger Creek, is there a way to know it's draining properly? The drain has noise coming from it all the time, but I don't know what that means. With a new subdivision going in a couple hundred feet away, I'd like to know if there's a system in place to handle the new drainage, too. I am hoping there's a way for me to find out this information, but I have yet to see it anywhere online. 

Thank you for your time,