“Little
by little the sky was darkened by the mixing dust, and the wind felt over the
earth, loosened the dust, and carried it away.”
By 1939, when
John Steinbeck published those words in The Grapes of Wrath, the
Soil Conservation Act was four years old, and the Dust Bowl was an ugly blotch
on the nation’s history. Yet, decades later, we still struggle with the effects
of wind on soil and the ability of rain to carry dirt and all of the pollutants
within it to the sea.
And while
economic concerns have been held responsible for destroying the environment,
likewise they have burgeoned in response to our fears for it. Controlling
erosion has become big business, as vendors compete to stabilize and contain the
earth’s treasures.
Seeing
a Problem From All Sides
Tom Williams,
owner of SiltPros in Woodstock, IL, spends a good deal of his time supervising
teams in the field of soil stabilization and runoff management. His background
in building and developing has given him a unique understanding of the
intricacies of erosion and sediment control. “When I started this business four
years ago, I didn’t know enough about erosion control,” he says. “I educated
myself and created the company to educate others who were having the same
difficulty. I tell the engineers and municipal officers to get out of the office
and be creative.”
Williams says
his past experience on the buying end has given him an appreciation of the costs
involved in controlling runoff. “Especially in this downturn, every penny and
dollar counts, and I treat my customers as if we were paying the bill
ourselves.”
In the summer
of 2008, a mixed-use, 30-acre commercial development in Algonquin, IL, was shut
down by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. “The dirt contractor was
having trouble dewatering the retention pond,” Williams says. “The site was
surrounded by wetlands and creeks. We were able to treat the dewatering with a
polymer, along with a buffer. We got clean water and were able to discharge into
the wetland. With limited space and the cost of land, it is important to use
every inch.”
In the same
project, Williams used a silt fence, installed with a Silt Fence Installer from
Burchland Manufacturing, to stabilize the perimeter of the site. He also uses
blankets, hydromulch, granular polymers, run-through broadcasters, and floc logs
for short-term stabilization, from 30 to 60 days. “Every project is
challenging,” he says.” They all require different techniques and products.”
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Photo: Quik Turf
A dirt stockpile awaits hydroseeding in central Florida. |
Williams owns
two Burchland silt fence plows. “When I first started this company four years
ago, I called Burchland and purchased my first plow. The slicing method with the
Burchland plow proved itself the first day we used it. My crew and I probably
looked like a bunch of kids with a new toy. Not only has it decreased our
installation time, but the fence is more secure than a traditional trench method
with minimal ground disturbance. Another feature that a lot of people miss is
the flexibility of post spacing. These days we encounter specs with post spacing
anywhere from 3-foot to 10-foot centers. With the slicing method versus
trenching a preassembled product, we do not have to wait for the supplier to
deliver a fence with a specific post spacing; we set it ourselves.”
Pennsylvania’s Clay Soil
Poses Problems
Jonathan Hunt
is business development manager for River Valley Organics, serving the Greater
Harrisburg Region of Pennsylvania. His challenges in that area include steep
slopes and what he calls “yellow, shaley clay soil.”
“Closing up” a
project and getting the soil stabilized in order to satisfy permit regulations
becomes an issue on any construction site. “On one site, there was a major
contractor in the area and we needed to get off the permit. The conservation
district said, ‘You need to get these channel areas stabilized.’ Nothing grows
on that yellow-type soil, and you need 70% minimum vegetation for a permit.
These were excavated basins, so you were getting down into the subsoil. The same
job site had collector channels, and they asked us to do the same thing with
those.”
Using Growing
Media supplied by Filtrexx, the developer was able to inject seed into the soil
and provide approximately the same stabilization with temporary or permanent
cover as would be provided by an erosion blanket, according to Hunt. “It’s a
two-for-one deal,” he says. “You get erosion control and permit stabilization.
One of the reasons it works in poor soil is that poor soil is delinquent in
organic matter. When you get down into the C layer, you don’t have much. With
our composted growth media, we add organic material into the soil.”
Hunt says using
growth media costs more than hydomulching and straw, but it actually saves money
in the end. “If contractors use traditional methods and not enough grows to
satisfy the conservation district, then they have to repeat the process, often
more than once. Our job is to help the contractor get to the green.”
Filtrexx does
the job, according to Hunt, who formerly worked for the conservation district.
“We generally can get good results where conventional methods fail.”
Hunt is
particularly impressed by the Filtrexx design manual and testing methods. “They
do their own testing and use third-party review, such as American Soil and
Water, as well as field application testing. Using their manual ensures an
excellent probability of success.”
River Valley
Organics also did field application testing on the Sediment Trapp from Filtrexx,
which can replace the conventional earthwork traps. “Engineers can use Sediment
Trapps on the perimeter of an area without disturbing the soil. Earthwork traps
are often in people’s backyards and subject to being trampled and run over by
bicycles and so forth. Contractors are liable for all of this. They also cut
costs because they have a bioinfiltration berm that remains in place, expediting
the construction process, because contractors can go to final grade and have
permanent stabilization.”
 |
Photo: Encap
Planning ahead is key to any operation, not only for stabilization
but also for temporary structures to control runoff. |
 |
Photo: Encap
Controlling erosion has become big business as vendors compete to stabilize and contain the earth's treasures. |
Stabilizing Soil in the
Median
The Middle Rio
Grande Valley of New Mexico is home to about half the state’s growing
population. From its capital, Santa Fe, to its largest city, Albuquerque, there
is only one highway, the four-lane I-25 freeway. Congested urban areas and
Native American tribal lands restrict roadway expansion. The solution for New
Mexico has been a $400 million Rail Runner project, offering light rail
commuting at 79 miles per hour.
Kevin Stumpff,
president of Windswept Organix in Gilbert, AZ, was active in phase two of Rail
Runner, the recently completed extension to Santa Fe, which runs part of its
route in the I-25 median. “The project was designed to reduce traffic, increase
safety, and limit the effects of travel on the environment,” Stumpff says.
Windswept’s
role in the project was to manage the stormwater pollution prevention plan
(SWPPP) required by the EPA and the New Mexico Department of Transportation. “We
were there from start to finish,” Stumpff says. “We were involved with
specifying solutions, designing procedures and plans, installing structural and
nonstructural BMPs [best management practices], and maintaining BMPs for
stormwater compliance. We also performed the revegetation and final
stabilization. We are a single-source solution that takes the not-knowing out of
project management.”
Windswept made
extensive use of Filtrexx’s FilterSoxx for sediment control throughout the
project. “We applied them to the base of slopes, to drainage areas—basically to
all water distribution areas to control sediment.”
Stumpff says
FilterSoxx offers superior filtration, durability, longevity, and specificity.
“The
conventional silt fence becomes a linear dam that ponds water and lets heavy
sediment settle. The FilterSoxx acts as a biofilter and lets the water continue
to flow. The filter media consists of recycled greenwaste that filters
contaminants chemically, physically, and biologically. It lets the water flow
and leave the site; it’s not a dam that requires gravity.”
The FilterSoxx
is not indestructible, according to Stumpff, but it outlasts its competitors in
terms of ultraviolet degradation, important in the sunny West, and for
durability. “I’ve seen heavy equipment drive over it,” he says.
Finally, the
product uses recycled greenwaste for its filter material. “You can prescribe the
contents you want to filter, from hydrocarbons to heavy metals,” Stumpff says.
Rail Runner
offered its own challenges unique to its setting. “There were steep slopes and
intense traffic,” Stumpff says. “It was built in the middle of I-25 coming out
of Albuquerque, and these were highly sensitive environmental areas, with the
Rio Grande only five miles from the project.”
The project,
highly publicized for the speediness of its four-year construction, presented
time constraints to those on the site. “They were continually disturbing new
areas while we were closing off other areas for final stabilization,” Stumpff
says. “The area was 30 miles long, and there were inspections the whole way. We
were protecting old as well as new areas.”
 |
Photo: SiltPros
A Burchland silt fence installer traces a site’s perimeter. |
Windswept
Organix has its own product, Nature’s Seal, an organic pine resin derivative
used to create an emulsion, which is applied to stabilize soil from wind and
water erosion. “It can be combined with standard mulches to create a fiber
matrix,” Stumpff says. “It can also be blended with compost or mulch and applied
for slope stabilization. It is sticky and cures hard, so it can be blended with
any aggregate for use on walkways or roadways. The main benefits of Nature’s
Seal are that it is 100% natural, and it is not water soluble once cured.”
Stumpff says he
uses the product extensively in arid regions like the Southwest where soil needs
to be stabilized for air-quality purposes. “We apply it to vacant lots in
commercial and housing developments, where not all of the pads have been
developed out,” he says.
Economic Downturn Means
More Empty Lots
Jack Adcock is
development superintendent for Brightleaf at the Park, a community started in
2004 by Rhein Interests of Raleigh, NC. With a target completion date of 2012,
the housing development has had a slow start in the economic downturn but is
expected to hold 212 homes and 1,780 townhomes when finished.
Vacant land
poses both runoff and dust-control problems for any developer. “We have to have
ground cover at all times,” Adcock says. “We maintain a seeding regimen of every
two weeks.”
Adcock says he
has used SiltShield on a few lots to demonstrate to the city and county the
product’s filtration, durability, and neatness. “It’s aesthetically pleasing
because it is green and matches its background.”
SiltShield’s
safety also came up for praise. “It limits the water, but it also has shorter
posts than the conventional silt fences,” Adcock says. “It can be driven over
and will stand back up because it is not attached to poles.”
The fence comes
in several types, but Adcock says the fiberglass model is the sturdiest. “It
costs more, but you can remove and reuse it. It is 100% reusable.”
Adcock says
both the city and county of Durham are vigilant in monitoring any building site.
“Any significant rain event and they come out. We have two creeks running
through the project, and they run into the Neuse River Basin.”
Regulatory
enforcement has increased greatly in the past few years, according to Adcock.
“We have to keep the streets clean and free of mud so that silt doesn’t get into
the storm structures. The state and city inspect quarterly and yearly, when it
used to be twice a year. If there is a fine, the inspections increase.”
 |
Photo: SiltPros
Once embedded in the ground, a silt fence is a sturdy, immovable, and effective measure in any soil stabilization project. |
 |
| Photo: SlitPros |
Diversionary
ditches, check dams, and straw rolls are among the techniques Adcock uses to
stabilize slopes.
But
the News Isn’t All Bad
The economic
downturn is putting a swing in the step of Bill Milan, corporate vice president
of Quik Turf Inc., a hydroseeding contractor from Ocala, FL.
Builders
continue to build in north central Florida, but many are unable to sell their
proposed lots, according to Milan, who cites a 250-acre development carved out
of the side of a hill. “The developer put in the main anchor store and sold the
outparcels to various restaurants, but when it came to finishing the project,
they couldn’t sell all of the parcels, so they had 18 acres of sand in three
stockpiles, with slopes of 80 to 120 feet high,” he says.
When Milan was
approached to stabilize the piles, he was told that getting rid of the dirt
would cost too much money. “They told me just one of the piles was worth $1.5
million, so we decided to stabilize the piles and grow vegetation on them.”
Erosion control
blankets offered an obvious but very expensive choice, so instead Milan’s firm
used Profile Products’ Flexterra, a flexible growth medium, on the slopes and
Soil Cover 70:30 wood/cellulose mulch on the flat areas. “Flexterra is about one
quarter of the price of blankets,” Milan says.
In Florida,
native grasses such as Bahia and Bermuda are used so that germination will occur
quickly and provide the best coverage. Rye grass, which is a cool-season grass,
is used because it will germinate in less than six days and put down quick roots
for immediate erosion control, according to Milan. “The developers want the soil
stabilized; then, when they’re ready to use the dirt elsewhere, they just dig it
out and spread it as they need it.”
An
office-building project in Ocala called for 18 buildings, of which only two
sold, leaving the developer with 16 bare pads. “We used 70:30 on that area
because it was flat,” Milan says.
While building
in north central Florida is still steady, according to Milan, there is a glut of
houses on the market. In one townhome development scheduled to have 44 homes,
only two have been sold, leaving 42 pads and common areas for Quik Turf to
protect from erosion.
“We sprayed
Flexterra the Sunday before Tropical Storm Fay [in August 2008],” he says. “Andy
Constantine of Profile Products and Steve Barr of Pennington Seed–Florida told
us it would take two hours to dry. The hurricane arrived on Tuesday, and it
rained for five days. We didn’t lose any soil.”
 |
Photo: SiltShield
SiltShield’s fiberglass fences rate among the sturdiest. |
As a licensed
and certified stormwater and erosion control inspector, Milan uses his expertise
and knowledge to advise and assist contractors in making the right choices. “We
don’t want sand going into the roadways and down into the storm drains,” he
says, adding that vegetation through hydroseeding is the most economical
solution.
Where
Erosion Is for the Birds
What is a boy
from Wisconsin doing on a cold afternoon in March? He’s down in Florida, sitting
outside of his office and listening to birdsong.
Robb Brown,
director of Cornerstone Environmental Services in Dade City, FL, has been
involved in the environmental side of construction since graduating from
college. With a background in environmental studies, he worked for an
engineering firm in design development and as a stormwater inspector before
doing onsite, hands-on work for Cornerstone. “We handle erosion control from
beginning to end in construction projects,” Brown says. “We do our own research
on products so that we can make knowledgeable recommendations. We develop and
implement SWPPPs, and we work throughout Florida with a wide variety of clients
and regulatory agencies.”
Florida’s
Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) works with municipal separate
storm sewer systems (MS4s) and with five water management districts that not
only administer flood protection programs and perform technical investigations
into water resources, but also oversee the design and function of stormwater
management systems. The state and the local MS4s implement federal National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations, and all three (FDEP,
the MS4s, and the water management districts) have some regulatory jurisdiction
over erosion issues.
 |
Photo: SiltShield
Vcant land poses runoff and dust problems for developers. |
 |
Photo: SiltShield
Silt fences can also bring aesthetic appeal to a work site. |
Florida
regulations require inspections weekly and within 24 hours of any half-inch or
greater rain event, which keeps them inspecting several days a week. “We have
54.2 inches of rainfall each year,” Brown says, adding that most of it falls in
the summer. “We have to work between raindrops.”
The MS4s are
stringent in regulating runoff, and the water management districts are stringent
in ensuring proper function of the stormwater management systems, according to
Brown. “Many MS4s have trained several of their code enforcement and building
inspection staff to conduct spontaneous NPDES compliance inspections.”
Brown says
Florida’s erosion challenge lies mainly in the variety of its soil. “We run the
gamut from flat and sandy to clay soil with slopes and hills.”
Sunset Pointe
of KB Home in Clearwater, FL, has about 30 townhome buildings selling from
upward of $154,990 per unit. Under construction for the past three years, the
site has been the victim of constant traffic in tight areas and consequently a
challenge for erosion control. “We tried a half dozen ways to contain the soil
near entryways, lot access, and high-traffic areas,” Brown says. “From small
berms wrapped in fabric to silt fences to cutbacks at the curb and rock
entrances, SiltShield offered the best combination of durability and
functionality.”
A SiltShield
will last several weeks, and even months, depending on the traffic, Brown says.
“You can run over it several times, and it takes accidental or incidental hits
in stride. We put it up before a lot pour and it lasts until the landscaping,
with maybe one replacement.”
Planning Ahead Pays Off
When Weather Turns Nasty
Jonathan Koepke
is soil erosion and sediment control division manager for ENCAP LLC, in
Sycamore, IL. ENCAP, an ecological firm that addresses water-quality issues on
construction sites and natural areas, specializes in consulting and constructing
BMPs and in natural area restoration.
In October
2007, a commercial subdivision project in Somers, WI, for Inland Real Estate
Development involved six weeks of extensive earthworks, according to Koepke, who
says his company did erosion and sediment control inspections, reporting, and
BMP installations. On the 117-acre site, contractors excavated 30 feet of fill
from a proposed stormwater basin. “It involved a lot of coordination between us
and the contractors on soil erosion and sediment control, developing some
temporary diversion berms and controlling runoff during the rapid site
improvements,” he says.
After
approximately 600,000 cubic yards of material had been moved in six weeks, the
project was interrupted by November’s inclement weather. “We immediately fell
back and started topsoiling the side-slope areas,” Koepke says. “We seeded and
put down some heavy erosion control blankets as well as diversion structures to
hold the site over the winter.”
Koepke says
that planning ahead for such work stoppage is key to any successful operation,
focusing not only on stabilization but temporary structures to control runoff.
Yet, when
winter weather is a factor, one cannot always foresee every event. “In that
January, we had 8 inches of snowmelt, followed by 3 inches of rain and some
thunderstorms,” Koepke says. “We had a breach of one of the diversion berms and
some erosion down into the sediment basin we had constructed. We used a
temporary slope drain on a large 3:1 slope that was approximately 45 feet long.
We had to come in with larger diversion and a larger pipe system to carry that
water down the slope. The key there was the quick recognition of where the
failure was and what had to be put in place to keep the site in compliance.”
Koepke praises
Burchland’s Silt Fence Installer for its durability and speed of installation.
“It allows us to statically slice the fence into the ground. It opens a narrow
slit and the fabric is laid behind it. The tractor then compacts the ground a
forms a tight seal. It is embedded into the soil, and two burly guys could not
lift it out.”
Koepke says the
fence will hold up for one or two seasons in an area where variable weather and
highly compacted clay soil makes it difficult to start grading. “It can be 70
degrees here and start snowing the next day.”
Multiple Methods a Must
in Solving Problems
Ryan Bright,
manager of Soil-Tek in Grimes, IA, does seeding and erosion control on new
projects for cities, the Iowa Department of Transportation, cities, and private
residential and commercial developers.
A recent
project for the city of Independence involved a half-mile to one-mile street
extension of Jackson River Drive for Radmacher Bros. Excavating. “The area east
of Kansas City has little topsoil; it’s all rock,” Bright says, explaining the
difficulty of installing a silt fence in these conditions. For durability and
strength, he says the McCormick Silt Fence Plow has no competitors. “It is heavy
and well built; one of the few that will hold up when there is rock everywhere.”
Bright says the
plow also saves time when compared with a traditional method involving a
trencher and manual silt fence installation. “We just did 7,000 feet of fence in
a day.”
For a company
that covers all aspects of erosion control on a project, having more than one
trick up one’s sleeve is a must. Bright has particular fondness for Profile
Products’ Flexterra, which he used on the Saylor Creek Project in Ankeny, IA.
“We put native seed around manmade lakes in the middle of a residential and
commercial development for DRA Properties,” he says. “We sprayed after
Thanksgiving, and it sat through the winter and still looks the same.”
Installing what
he estimates to be “over a million feet of silt fence a year,” Bright also calls
on the Burchland Manufacturing Silt Fence Installer for tight access. “It has an
offset that allows us to get closer to, say, a fence or a treeline.”
Ultimately,
staying competitive in the field of erosion control means that a company has to
offer a wide variety of services and stay current with new products,
regulations, and methods.