NEW Course – The ABCs of BMP Installation including Canadian Edition and BMP Manual Download is ready! This 0.5 CEU Video Course covers (14) standard, benchmark BMPs, from Soil Preparation/Soil Roughening, to Turf Reinforcement Mats, to Stabilized Construction Entrance, to Sediment Barriers for Slope Interruption and Toe-of-Slope Applications.  The course also includes the free download of BMP Manual – Best of the BMPs Guidance Manual, 5th Edition to help reference the Construction Specifications and Inspection and Maintenance Recommendations for each BMP.

Here is what Graham Tait, Stormwater Specialist, Calgary, Alberta has to say;

“Congratulations, John, Kevin, and Team!
I love the content – it’s engaging, well laid out, and thorough! It really ‘hits the nail (or the wood stake) on the head’ for everything industry personnel need to know about ESC best practices. It is essential and informative training for beginners to experts alike!  And I like that people will be able to refer back to the videos and supplementary materials such as drawings and notes once they have signed up. Superb work!”

USD$250.00 – CAN $340.00
Canadian Edition for nearly CAD$70 off for CAN-IECA Chapter members*
Special Offer over 20% off for CAN-IECA
Members CAN$270.00
(use coupon code “CAN-IECA”)

The video course takes the learner to a level un-available via the standard webinar format.  The student will have to ability to recognize that specified installation rates were applied, see Straw Mulch applied at 1T/ac (2000kg/ha), and then compare it to what 2T/ac (4000kg/ha) looks like.  How is a tackifier applied?  Also compare BFM applications of 3.500-4,000#/ac (4000kg/ha) to a lesser amount.  See, first-hand (almost!) what BFM applied at 100% coverage looks like in the field.

*Professionals who are current members of AustralasiaIECA Chapter will receive a discount.

NEW Course – The ABCs of BMP Installation will be released this week. This 0.5 CEU Video Course covers (14) standard, benchmark BMPs, from Soil Preparation/Soil Roughening, to Turf Reinforcement Mats, to Stabilized Construction Entrance, to Sediment Barriers for Slope Interruption and Toe-of-Slope Applications.  The course also includes the free download of BMP Manual – Best of the BMPs Guidance Manual, 5th Edition to help reference the Construction Specifications and Inspection and Maintenance Recommendations for each BMP.

Here is what Graham Tait, Stormwater Specialist, Calgary, Alberta has to say;

“Congratulations, John, Kevin, and Team!
I love the content – it’s engaging, well laid out, and thorough! It really ‘hits the nail (or the wood stake) on the head’ for everything industry personnel need to know about ESC best practices. It is essential and informative training for beginners to experts alike!  And I like that people will be able to refer back to the videos and supplementary materials such as drawings and notes once they have signed up. Superb work!”

USD$250.00 – CAN $340.00
Special Offer over 20% off for CAN-IECA
Members CAN$270.00
(use coupon code “CAN-IECA”)

The video course takes the learner to a level un-available via the standard webinar format.  The student will have to ability to recognize that specified installation rates were applied, see Straw Mulch applied at 1T/ac (2000kg/ha), and then compare it to what 2T/ac (4000kg/ha) looks like.  How is a tackifier applied?  Also compare BFM applications of 3.500-4,000#/ac (4000kg/ha) to a lesser amount.  See, first-hand (almost!) what BFM applied at 100% coverage looks like in the field.

You will be able to sign up soon.

John

The “Big Four” Erosion Control (raindrop) BMPs

I often inform my students that an estimated 90% of the erosion in the world is caused by raindrop erosion. You know, the energy from a falling raindrop onto bare soil is like a bomb!! Or actually millions of little bombs during a decent storm.  It is this energy (Raindrop Impact) that detaches and dislodges soil particles, by a magnitude, at least, over tractive forces of flowing water erosion (Rills, Channel Bank, Bed, and Gully Erosion) My physics professor in college demonstrated that the raindrop, average size 1cm3, shaped to minimize friction, need only fall about 30-ft to reach maximum velocity.  That raindrop erosion energy causes the first detachment and breakup of soil particles, and now that soil surface ready now for transport and delivery from sheet flow (sheet erosion).  Note that Sheet Flow doesn’t have much excess energy to needed to dislodge – for that the energy comes from raindrop impact energy.

 

Envision Junior raindrop hitting bare soil and causing the explosion all the while it also hurts his tush.  Junior will then get a bad attitude and begin running off!  That is how rills start.  That is why, in practicing good erosion control, we are being like good parents and not letting Junior get going too fast.  Junior loves it when we leave the soil surface smooth and hard.  But “good parents” will slow Junior down by roughening the soil surface and putting slope interrupters, like fiber rolls down across the slope/

Go to Jr raindrop Blog

 

 

Now envision Junior landing on grass or nice soft Mulch, making a cushion for his tush. He can then slowly infiltrate into the soil. Remember the axiom; “Less runoff from a site correlates to less discharge and less discharge greatly reduces the likelihood of receiving a regulatory action!”

The prerequisite for Raindrop Impact Erosion is laying the soil bare by removing the soil cover. This is usually an anthropogenic (human-caused) land-use problem. Therefore one of the MOST effective BMP is what I call the ‘thinking persons” BMP, which is a do-nothing BMP. That BMP is a “practice” and it is to, whenever possible, Reduce the Amount of Disturbed Area During the Rainy Season. This BMP is related to “Minimize Disturbance BMP” and that is “Leave a Vegetative Buffer BMP”. If a regulator or plan reviewer asks “Where are your Silt Fences”, I like to be able to reply – “See I have designated a Vegetative Buffer capable hydraulically to …..”

Back to the Raindrop Erosion 

Let’s combine the assertion that 90% of the erosion in the world is caused by raindrop erosion with the fact that our “industry” has 4 (four) types of BMPs that are better than 90% effective in reducing Raindrop Impact Erosion. Stated another way, we currently have the Best Available Technology (BAT) that could reduce 90% of the erosion in the world, and that especially includes construction sites. Let’s note these are BMPs that are widely used, tested, and non-vegetative in that they are BMPs that are immediately effective upon application.

Can you guess what the BMPs are? Note I’m not including grasses, seeding or other types of vegetation because even grass seeding takes 3-weeks or more to get protective cover.

The four commonly used BMPs, I call them the “Big Four”, are; 1.) Straw Mulch (94% effective), 2.) Rolled Erosion Control Products (RECPs) (92% – 96% effective), 3.) BFM Hydromulch (some products are 95% – 98% effective, and 4.) Compost Blanket (the uniform coverage of soil with STA Certified Compost, 1.5-inch to 2-inch thick covering, on up to 1:1 slopes**.

 

Generally, the “Big Four” are recommended for slopes approximating 2:1 but the can be and are occasionally used successfully on steep slopes (up to 1:1 or steeper). However, design considerations are even more important.

In 2010 Caltrans Department of Landscape Architecture developed guidance for steep slopes, see this link for more information:

https://dot.ca.gov/programs/design/lap-erosion-control-design/tool-1-lap-erosion-control-toolbox 

Direct Run-on Away From Slope: To successfully implement erosion control (the Big Four) on slopes all concentrated runoff must first be directed off the slope – only raindrop erosion, please. The Junior Raindrop video taught us the difference between raindrop erosion (hurting Junior’s ‘tush’ as he dislodges particles) versus the tractive forces erosion when Junior and his gang start running. Two entirely different physical processes are involved, gravity and the falling raindrop, vs. kinetic energy – and shear and tractive forces of flowing water. 

 

Selection Criteria for the “Big Four”

1. Straw Mulch: SM is generally restricted to 2:1 slopes and the ability to anchor the straw effectively with a strong tackifier. Generally, the 2:1 slope should be groomed uniformly and roughened. For the tack coat, I like to use wood fiber hydromulch @ 700# /ac and Guar @ 100-120 # /acre for steep slope applications of Straw Mulch @ 1.5-2.0 T/ac. See the BMP Manual and “Straw Talk”. https://youtu.be/m91AWMLeAoU

 

2. Erosion Control Blankets (ECB) and Mats: The primary prerequisite to selecting Rolled Erosion Control Products is the ability to grade the slope uniformly (not slick and compacted) to allow “intimate soil contact” and you will be limited by your ability to anchor the ECB with pins. If your slope is excessively rocky and/or there are stumps and clods then you may want to select an equally effective BMP, such as Hydromulch BFM, that doesn’t require anchor pins. Also putting laborers on steep slopes can be challenging. Both BFM (applied hydraulically) and Compost Blanket (applied pneumatically with blower truck) are worthy of considering for steep slopes**.

Always seed the slope before placing the ECB. Some practitioners will Hydroseed the slope before mat installation but hand seeding is also acceptable, be careful, don’t allow workers to disturb seed much while anchoring ECB.

Another criteria for selecting an appropriate ECB is durability and how fast it will degrade. The ECB chosen should not degrade before the vegetative cover can become established. For example, in New Mexico, the DOT determined it took about 3-years for the “native grass/sage regime” to become established. Therefore only Coir Blankets or Excelsior Blankets had the durability to provide the protection needed until the natives took over.

 

3. Hydromulch BFM: In my experience, and the research bears this out, it takes a BFM Hydromulch to perform in the 96% effective range. The fiber type is important when selecting a BFM, with virgin wood fiber having the most internal friction and tensile strength. But the most important component of an effective BFM is the tackifier(s) that are used – guar and a thermally altered derivative of guar. Yes, the secret sauce recipe is finally been revealed!

BFM, to be 96% effective must be applied for 100% coverage at a rate of 4000 lbs./acre. FYI, one cannot achieve 100% cover over 1 ac of bare soil with 3500 lbs./ac. Also note, if you surface roughen the soil before Hydromulching (preferred practice) you will inadvertently increase the surface area of the soil. It is estimated that dozer tracking a slope will increase the soil surface area by approximately 30%. One can see that BFM applied at 4000#/ac as a minimum is necessary for 100% coverage. Question, How many bags should the Contractor show up with to apply BFM at 4000#/ac? BFM and all hydromulches come in 50# bags. How many bags will it take if you also plan on Track Walking?

  

4. Compost Blankets: First of all, Compost Blankets as a BMP is defined as a blanket of compost placed over the soil surface at specified thickness AND the Compost must the STA Certified Compost

https://dot.ca.gov/programs/design/lap-erosion-control-design/tool-1-lap-erosion-control-toolbox/tool-1k-11-compost

Before compost application, “the Contractor shall provide the Engineer with a copy of the compost producer’s Compost Technical Data Sheet and a copy of the compost producers STA certification. The Compost Technical Data Sheet shall include laboratory analytical test results, directions for product use, and a list of product ingredients.”

Here is an example of the STA Compost Test Certificate from Colorado.

 

 

Speaking at the Hawaii DOT – 2019 PROTECT OUR WATERS CONFERENCE

He will provide a Keynote Presentation on BMPs in the Opening Session and speak on a few other topics during the morning.
Most exciting is the “In the Field Hands-on BMP Demonstration” to be held Thursday at Hawaiian Earth Transfer Station.

Like the Shasta College BMP Summit, the In the Field was coordinated by Marleina Lyons-Wolfe, Enviro Services and Training, Troy Ogasawara, Geotech Solutions Hawaii, John McCullah SalixAEC, and Eddie Snell, Applied Polymer Systems

Download the agenda here

We learned from previous blogs that seeding with CA Native Grasses will be beneficial for erosion control and long-term soil stabilization (the roots are extremely fiberous and long), and native grasses will help ” set the stage” for a more natural succession of native species and vegetation that will become less “fire prone” in the future.

The information here will describe some seed mixes and seeding rates, specific for the areas in western Shasta County.

 

Here are some seed mixes developed by myself and Pacific Coast Seed, Livermore, CA – my “go to” seed specialists and materials provided.

Here is the seed mixes developed by CalTrans for the 299W Highway corridor

You will notice that the total rates are different.  My seed recommendation is about 30#/ac and the Caltrans rates are about 50#/ac.  The reason is two-fold.  My rates are going to be applied by hand-broadcasting, similar to the video.  The CT rates will be applied with a hydroseeding/hydromulching machine.  A general rule is that adding/applying seed with a hydromulcher requires more seed – just a general rule, many other factors come into play, e.g. the ability to protect the seed from bird predation by mulch and if the seed can be applied with close contact with the soils (sometimes Hydromulch is applied in two stages, the first with seed and little hydromulch to ensure good soil contact followed by the rest of the specified mulch for Erosion Control cover).

I will present more on Hydroseeding and Hydromulching (really one in the same thing) in the near future.

But note that once the seed in down it really must be covered with MULCH.  The seed mix above that I am using for hand application will be followed by Straw Mulching.

The straw mulch I have chosen is rice straw (see previous Straw Talk video) and we will apply is at about 1.5 T /ac which relates to about 1 bale per 1000sf.Straw bales generally weigh between 70-90#/bale.  Therefore a burned area of 6000sf would require approximately 6 bales. The straw shall be spread uniformly over the ‘disturbed soil areas’ such that 70%-90% of the soil is covered with an average of 1″-2″ thick straw.  For small area rehabilitation on up to 2:1 steep slopes I seldom apply tackifier – the first rains will “lay the straw down” and prevent it from blowing away – general rule!

 

 

We are considering doing even more ‘application and performance’ studies and demonstrations at the Shasta College Erosion Control Training Facility In the near future.

 

A couple of new and innovative products we are considering are a recycled polyethylene wattle (remember the DuraWattle was demonstrated at the Erosion Control BMP Summit back in May) and I discovered a newly engineered “rumble-strip-type” construction entrance.   Several manufacturers/vendors have been referred lately to us to do “trials” or studies at Shasta College at our future summits.
Please let us know if you’d be interested in attending and or exhibiting at the SECOND Shasta College BMP Summit!  We, SC, SWAG, and WCIECA are planning another one for this winter.  Interested ?   Please contact Jeni@salixaec.com to be put on our “interested list”                                                                          
                                                                         
link: /watchyourdirt-erosion-control/2015/5/11/our-bmp-summit-was-a-huge-success.html and “friend” us at https://www.facebook.com/WatchYourDirtTV “)                                                                                     
We have some plans to test the mychorrizae fungi applications in establishing native grasses.
 Information, specifications, and guidelines for Using and successfully establishing CA native grasses is a Huge issue given the ‘Drought” and the concept of sustainable erosion control for construction sites only makes sense when you consider that the Construction General Permit  requires (favors) permanent vegetation establishment to get your Notice Of Termination.
There is also a lot of discussion out there about pre-packaged hydraulic growth medium-type hydromulches with “biotic soil enhancers” and how these products can supplant the need for compost or topsoil applications.  I’d like to do some side-by-side comparative studies on our TEST SLOPES.                        
 
Here are some photos how the Shasta College Erosion Control Training Facility looks currently.

  

Here are some photos from the Hydromulch-compost study from 2009/2010.

In the study we looked at the accuracy in the anecdotal theory that “high rates of BFM (4000#/ac) would reduce seed germination and grass establishment.”  We constructed approximately 20 plots that has uniform soil prep (trackwalking), broadcast mychorrizae uniformly, then manually applied the CA native seed blend to the soil surface at a rate of 20#/ac.   The seed was then covered with several kinds of commonly used hydromulches – Soil Guard, Flexterra, TeraMulch, hydrostraw, and a cotton mulch. The study is available for free download by scrolling down to NAVIGATION and clicking on WYD Files.

The plots were visually monitored for photodocumented for density of plant establishment during that first Winter, Summer, and the following Fall seasons. We documented NO discernible ill effects from higher rates.  Actually just the opposite!!! was true.  

That particular winter had unusually intense storms and the lower rates of hydromulch resulted in quite a bit more erosion – there were small deltas of fine sediment observed at the bottom of the 2000#/ac plots, irregardless of mulch brand.  Subsequently we observed less vigorous and dense establihment on those 2000#/ac plots.

 Note the compost plot on the left, this is just two months after application.

What is most significant is that we also applied a compost blanket 2″ thick.  There was NO reduction of seed establishment, if fact the compost blanket grew the BEST grass, both by covering seed with 2″ of compost and by gently raking the seed into the surface – there was no dicernable difference. 

 Hope you enjoy and hope this paper somewhat “lays to rest” the notions that Compost Blankets at 2″-thick and BFM at 4000#/ac will smother seeds.    We must, as EC Specialists, find a balance between veg establishment and effective erosion control during the establishment period.    

Another observation made at this trial was that weeds did not become established on the plots, even though weeds grew almost everywhere else!  My personal hunch is that adding mychorrizae made the difference.  My theory is that California native, mychorrizal-dependant grasses and mychorrizae will “out compete” many of the commom noxious weeds. This could be another comparative study!!  Native grass establishment with and without mychorrizae. 

Another potential study will be to do side-by-side comparisons of compost and the “new” biotic soil formulated hydromulches.  These hydromulches could prove to be cost-effective over compost.  Let’s try it!!


Sediment and Erosion Control Training: Forester University & Dirt Time

Watch a video, take a quiz, and earn CEU and PDH credits courtesy of Forester University and Dirt Time Videos. Select from five different OnDemand eLearning training packages offering sediment and erosion control field technique, best practices, and management training. Hosted by John McCullah, each training video is an on-the-job look at the theory, application how-to, and best management practices needed to improve your knowledge and skills and enable you to earn CEU and PDH credits to maintain your contractor certification*.

OnDemand eLearning packages include: the Full Dirt Time Training Package, Best of Dirt Time Training, Erosion Control & Soil Stabilization, Runoff Control & Channel Protection, and Bioengineering & Stream Bank Stabilization.

 
 

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