Erosion Control During Construction

In the spring and summer, Midwest states receive an inordinate amount of precipitation and snow runoff paired to high winds from storms, leading to saturated grounds, pooling, and of course, erosion.  It’s part of living here, and more importantly, learning to build here.  Contractors need to consider not only water management during the build, but also grading and long-term water management for the properties they build and remodel.

With ever-tightening codes and regulations on water and erosion control during construction, builders are expanding their “bag of tricks” to include a wide range of techniques and products for erosion control.

 

Check The Grade

Water settles in the lowest point, so pay special attention to the grade slope directly adjacent to your building project—even if it falls outside your foundation work.  As water flow increases, it will accumulate and if that’s near your foundation, it could eventually cause structure or foundation damage.

Minimize Your Impact

Try to concentrate your excavation and heavy equipment movement to as small an area as possible to keep the soil and any vegetation at the surface intact.  If you need to move soil, aggregate or other materials from an area that won’t be disturbed again for the duration of the project, either seed or put erosion blankets over the area to prevent washout.

Be Mindful of Pavement

Just because you have concrete or asphalt across an area does not prevent soil erosion across the paved area.  Erosion Eels and erosion logs are designed to prevent soil passage while allowing water to flow through our around.  Erosion logs can be used on slopes and in conjunction with erosion blankets to reduce washout.

Set Erosion Boundaries with Silt Fence

Most municipalities require silt fence, though not all.  Regardless of code, silt fence is that “last line of defense” before water and sediment move off of the property or work area.  At United Rent-A-Fence, we bury the woven fabric material an average of 6″ below the surface in order to arrest any slow-flowing sediment, and in the winter, we often will add sandbags on the fabric base if the ground is frozen.

2 thoughts on “How To Prevent Construction Site Erosion”

  1. My husband and I have been trying to be more eco-friendly in everything we do. I appreciate your advice here to try to minimize the impact of our construction work and make sure we keep our project within as small of an area as we can. We definitely want to keep the environment in mind, so thanks for the reminder!

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