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Sediment erosion is one of the greatest pollution problems that can be caused by a construction site. In order to prevent the issues that come about with sediment erosion, it is important to understand what exactly sediment erosion is and how it can become a problem for a construction site and its safety. Sediment erosion comes from all the excavation a construction site entails. It might be excess soil and pollutants that are shifted around the construction site as something is being built. To fix this, a sediment control device is put into place. A sediment control device is a practice or physical device that is put into place to keep eroded soil on a construction site. This ensures that the eroded soil does not wash off into runoff and cause water pollution to a nearby body of water. However, sediment controls are also designed to be temporary measures, not permanent solutions for the safety of construction sites. There are many sediment control options available to help ensure the safety and to prevent pollution runoff from a construction site. These including the following devices or tactics, check dams, diversion dikes, fiber rolls, silt busters, sand bag barriers, sediment basins, sediment traps, silt fences, storm drain inlet protections, straw bale barriers and turbidity curtains. Each of these practices or devices has a unique purpose and so careful consideration should go into which sediment erosion device or tactic is implemented to ensure safety in and around a construction site. Some of these examples are more permanent and thus not great solutions for the temporary nature of a construction site. In addition to making a careful consideration of which sediment erosion tactic to implement in a construction site, it is also important to note that each and every state has varied and different laws that govern the installation of erosion and sediment controls. Adherence and upkeep of these laws is a must and they will differ from state to state as well as according to the size of your construction site. A good rule of thumb for first determining even if you need some type of sediment erosion control is that if the construction site you are building on is one acre or larger, you will definitely need some type of erosion control. These controls must be implemented prior to construction startup and must be maintained for the entirety of the the disturbance phase of construction. The potential impacts of sediment erosion on the bodies of water that surround or are nearby to a construction site can be vast. They can range from simple pollution problems, to the covering of plant and animal habitats that are critical to healthy streams, lakes and wetlands. This can cause loss of habitat, animals and plants. Even worse, suspended sediment increases the solar heating of water cause a whole host of problems including algae. This, among other reasons is why sediment erosion protection is such an important safety issue for any and all construction sites that are construction on an area that is one acre or larger.
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