Regular maintenance is needed to ensure proper operation of infiltration systems. In general, these systems do not have a full-time inspection. Therefore, proper installation inspection and quality control procedures will sometimes have to be provided by the community. In order to keep the infiltration surface porous, vegetation growing on the infiltration zone needs to be maintained. As the facility ages and the surface soils become clogged, the top soil layers may have to be removed, replaced, and re-vegetated to restore the infiltration capacity.

Maintenance of percolation facilities is mainly related to keeping the inlet filter free from plugging. The filter fabric and sand layers need to be checked frequently and cleaned. After a couple of years it may become necessary to replace the rock media of the percolation facility, if the pores are filled by fine particles.

Infiltration rates in a newly constructed facility will be less than anticipated. Also ageing facilities may fail and will have to be repaired or replaced. Therefore, downstream conveyance system may need to handle more runoff, which should be kept in mind when constructing these facilities.

Clogging of infiltration systems is caused by fine eroded particles. Thus, it is very important to control erosion in the catchment area, for example, through the installation of splash pads at downspouts or the use of rock or paved rundowns.

The inflow of stormwater into the ground will affect the groundwater levels and water quality in the region. Therefore, this impact needs to be considered, for example, if rising groundwater levels are expected to be above basement floor elevations. Usually, the recharge of groundwater by nonindustrial stormwater has no serious impact on the water quality, so that the water can be used as drinking water supply. Nevertheless, there is the risk that toxic chemicals or other pollutants may enter the groundwater with the infiltrated stormwater (Urbanos & Stahre,1993).