Soil Erosion Control No Longer a Fad

The Effects of Soil Erosion

Soil Erosion is the wearing away of soil from natural processes that are sometimes sped up by human influence.  This usually occurs on construction sites (structural or roadway) and farm ground.  This is because the earth is bare and is exposed to the elements such as water and wind.

Solid run off is the number one pollutant for surface waters.  This is responsible for many problems in the water.  When run off enters the waterways, it buries underwater vegetation directly affecting the entire food chain.  Suspended soil particles also clog fish gills and other water machinery.  Construction sites also use chemicals in their building and cleaning process that will enter the water through the erosion process.  This impacts all wildlife.

Soil Erosion Prevention

There are a lot of actions to take for soil erosion prevention.  Most of the these are work done to prep a site, adding wattles and logs to drains and high risk areas.  These procedures set you up for success during the construction process.  There are also necessary steps during and post construction to help prevent soil erosion.  One of those is to cover bare earth during the process.  This can be accomplished through spreading straw.  After construction, the addition of vegetation is vital.  Anchoring the soil with plant life prevents rapid soil movement and loss of organic material in the soil.

Erosion Control Products

Straw erosion control blanketing is a great way to maintain new vegetation once planted.  Seeds are usually dispersed through a pump and hose system.  To retain moisture and protect the new seeds from washing away or being carried off by animals, straw coverage is added.

The problem we see is folks don't have an efficient way to accomplish this.  When mulch is added to the hose and pump system, seeds don't have soil contact and therefore germination rate is lowered.  Some other folks use a small bale chucker, but these still require quite a bit of manual labor and small square bales are hard to find.  Top-Notch Machine provides a different solution.  Top-Spread bale spreader attaches to a skid loader you already have on site and you can quickly cover the ground with no manual labor needed.  This also cuts down on time and material used.

Soil Erosion Prevention is no longer just something nice to do for the environment; it is also mandated across the board by almost every state.  The Federal Highway Administration provides guidelines for erosion control during projects.  Please visit your individual state sites for more information.

Be a part of the solution while cutting costs for your company.

 

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