The April 2022 2-day Erosion Summit held at Shasta College was a success!

WATCH a ‘live action educational video, take a TEST, and EARN a CEU

If you couldn’t attend the 2-day, 2022 BMP Summit at Shasta College you can make up for it by signing up for one of the dirttime.tv video courses:

  1. The ABCs of BMP Installation, 0.5 CEU course
  2. The Best of the BMPs SUMMIT Video Course, 1.0 CEU course
  3. UPCOMING – The latest 2-day, 2022 BMP Summit at Shasta College was professionally filmed (both during the classroom sessions and the field demonstrations) and is currently being crafted into a new Training Video!!

 

Remember: These BMP Training Videos are endorsed by EnviroCert International– the international registry for professionals in erosion and sediment control and Stormwater.

This ‘teaser’ video presents an example of the upcoming course.

We would like to give a BIG thanks to Shasta College for use of their campus and allowing us to push some dirt, which allowed us make live demonstration areas with all the products, tools, and equipment that would used in industry applications.

 

Dirttime.tv would also like to thank our sponsors:

 

Profile, Solutions for your Environment

Finn, Smarter Ways to Work

Rolanka International, Inc., The True Green Solution

Filtrexx, Sustainable Technologies

Take advantage of the 30% discount offer!

Envirocert International, Inc. is endorsing two dirttime.tv video courses as a “prerequisite” source of hands-on (as close to an actual field training as the “video-centric” education platform will allow) workshop experience.

Envirocert International, Inc. is recommending these courses to candidates as a prerequisite to the Professional Exams. Both video courses provide the same basic curriculum and are enhanced by the filming and editing of events at the actual workshops conducted at the Shasta College Erosion Control Training Facility (ECTF).

The Best of the BMPS Online Training Course with John McCullah:

The Best of the BMPS Online Training Course with John McCullah

The ABCs of BMP Installation Promo:

Upon completing the 1 CEU Course (The Best of the BMP Summit) or the 0.5 CEU Course (The ABCs of BMP INSTALLATION) the student will take a test and upon receiving a 70% grade the student will get a Certificate of Completion.

Dirttime.tv would like to thank our sponsors:

 

Profile, Solutions for your Environment

Finn, Smarter Ways to Work

Rolanka International, Inc., The True Green Solution

Filtrexx, Sustainable Technologies

A recent article on Popular Science discusses how willows can help filter water. The trees not only filter waste, but benefit from the extra nutrients.

“We are pretty convinced that wastewater can be efficiently treated [with willow trees],” – Frédéric Pitre, one of the senior authors of the study and a professor at the Université de Montréal

You can read more on how willow trees can be a sustainable way to treat wastewater here.

Did you know that Salix means “willow” in Latin?  One reason Dirt Time’s John McCullah named his company “Salix Applied Earthcare” is because John has seen the “healing effects from willow”. Willow is, after all, from what aspirin is derived – Salicylic Acid! He even reports willow bioengineering projects, implemented by very culturally diverse workforces, which seemed to result in successful cooperation and camaraderie!

John McCullah has an AA degree in Biology and a BS in Watershed Geology. He is a CA licensed contractor since 1990 and has been performing erosion control and restoration work for over 25 years. He has designed and built many environmentally sensitive river and stream projects from California to Alaska, Alberta Canada to New Zealand. He has included willow in many erosion control and bioengineering projects. While heavily invested in teaching, training, and coaching others, John also offers contract work or consulting services.

In 2005 Salix Applied Earthcare completed 3 yrs research project sponsored by the Transportation Research Board and the National Academy of Science to compile and develop guidance for Fed and State Highway Engineers stymied by the environmental barriers to using rip rap exclusively. The result of this research is a digital manual presenting over 50 alternatives to rock – at least 20 techniques show how willow and rock (or large woody debris) and willow can be combined in a mutually reinforcing manner. See ESenSS – re-published by Salix Applied Earthcare

Learning resources on how you can utilize willow in your bioengineering projects:

 

Upcoming Events

 

 

Blogs, Projects, and more that utilized willow

INNOVATIVE Vegetated Mechanically Stabilized Earth (VMSE) Structure

New Zealand & John – Pt 2

Three Stream Projects in Three Weeks !! First one – COW CREEK

Project # 20 – Lower Sulphur Creek ( A Chapter from Bioengineering Case Studies)

Dirttime.tv would like to thank our sponsors:

 

Profile, Solutions for your Environment

Finn, Smarter Ways to Work

Rolanka International, Inc., The True Green Solution

Filtrexx, Sustainable Technologies

Construction WorkshopStorm Water Awareness Week (SWAW) goes virtual…

And DirtTime’s John McCullah, presented “The ABCs of BMP Installation at Construction Sites” at the 2020 Storm Water Awareness Week (Learn More).

Overview

John McCullah, a nationally and internationally recognized expert in erosion and sediment control, (interviewed by WGR’s John Teravskis), talks about very pragmatic tips when it comes to controlling erosion and sedimentation on construction sites. He shares some clips from his award-winning Dirt Time videos. Even very seasoned and experienced QSPs and QSDs can learn valuable field tips from John and his instructional videos.

View the video presentation here.

 


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Sadly the 2020 StormCon Conference in Seattle was cancelled because of the Covid19 pandemic. “Out of crisis comes opportunity” ………. subsequently dirttime.tv is producing two NEW Environmentally-Sensitive Stream “Restoration” Techniques Courses.

Of the 2 new Video Course developments, one (1.) will be entitled :

“Alternatives to Rip Rap – Environmentally-Sensitive Bank and Channel Protection Methods. This learning event, sponsored by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, will be organized as a 3-hour Online Workshop. “We would like to surpass the 1000 attendees threshold for this important presentation”, Glenn MacMillan. The workshop is scheduled for September 9, 2020. Contact https://trca.ca for more information as it becomes available. More info now available here.

 

Concurrently Course number two (2) we will be developed as an expanded dirttime.tv Video Course worth 0.5 CEUs – “Alternatives to Rip Rap – How to Design and Build Stream Protection Methods and Practices that are Environmentally-Sensitive”.

 

 

“ This video clip was taken during the second phase of a Stream Bank Protection (and golf course) Project completed in November 2017. This project, and many more that have been designed and built since 2005, have featured and are examples of techniques exclusively taken from the NCHRP Report 544- Environmentally-Sensitive Channel and Bank Protection Measures, McCullah, J., Gray, D., et.al., 2005, Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C. (aka- Alternatives to Rip Rap or E-SenSS). This project, for instance, featured redirection components (Bendway Weirs) and a Longitudinal Fill Stone Toe (to Bank Full elevation), Live Willow Siltation, and Vegetated Mechanically Stabilized Earth. The Bendway Weirs move the thalweg, the focus of highest velocity and energy, away from the outer bank, and, in this case, we constructed an “active” flood terrace along the outer bank. These thalweg and morphological changes eliminate the need for riprap to line the entire 500-ft length to the top of the bank. 

Upon being asked when taking rip rap (rock slope protection) to the top of the bank is recommended, David Derrick, Potomologist replied ” If you are standing on the roadway shoulder and upon looking under the guardrail you see the river, then employ armoring to the top of the bank.”

The 3-year research and ‘Report (on CD)’, was peer-reviewed and approved for publication by a panel of Highway Engineers delineated over 50 techniques that could represent alternatives to just rip rap. Do you have projects where the environmental concerns and habitat sensitivities preempt the use of excessive rock? The main criteria for being listed as environmentally sensitive is the technique has to exhibit, scientifically determined, environmental and aquatic habitat enhancements. For instance, biologic assays of the fringe and substrate near Bendway Weirs and Rock Vanes (Spurs) revealed a substantial increase in an aquatic habitat, while rock deflectors and Groins (Groynes) exhibited no such improvements! 

Are you interested in hearing more about E-SenSS? Water Quality: Are you interested in how projects have been built in live, environmentally sensitive habitats while meeting Water Quality Standards of 1-2 NTU increase? The “Report” includes not only the 50-some BMPs but also Design Criteria, Construction Standards, and Typical Detailed Drawings provided in AutoCAD or Microstation. “The proof is in the pudding”. Over 2-dozen stream projects built over 15-years provide case studies and proof of the efficacy that environmentally-sensitive, sustainable, bioengineered, Biotechnical methods can provide. 

See our offering of E-SenSS at our Store

 https://dirttime.tv/product/esenss/

 

 

Nov 2017 During Construction of Flood Terrace and Bendway Weirs: The NEW thalweg will be now at the tips of the Bendway Weirs.

 

AFTER VMSE INSTALLED

During Construction

4 Bendway Weirs spaced over 500 ft used to “move thalweg stream ward”  Weir crest designed about 1-ft lower than OAHW with “active Flood terrace” designed at Bankfull Discharge Elevation.  Upper bank section protected with VMSE.  The proximity of Golf Course prevented rebuilding bank completely  from above

 

After two winters – 2-2019 After several large flow events with floodwaters measured 6-8-ft above the Flood Terrace.  After two seasons the structures VMSE are difficult to see through the extensive vegetation.

 

“ This video clip was taken during the second phase of a Stream Bank Protection (and golf course) Project completed in November 2017. This project, and many more that have been designed and built since 2005, have featured and are examples of techniques exclusively taken from the NCHRP Report 544- Environmentally-Sensitive Channel and Bank Protection Measures, McCullah, J., Gray, D., et.al., 2005, Transportation Research Board, Washington D.C. (aka- Alternatives to Rip Rap or E-SenSS). This project, for instance, featured redirection components (Bendway Weirs) and a Longitudinal Fill Stone Toe (to Bank Full elevation), Live Willow Siltation, and Vegetated Mechanically Stabilized Earth. The Bendway Weirs move the thalweg, the focus of highest velocity and energy, away from the outer bank, and, in this case, we constructed an “active” flood terrace along the outer bank. These thalweg and morphological changes eliminate the need for riprap to line the entire 500-ft length to the top of the bank. 

The 3-year research and ‘Report (on CD)’, was peer-reviewed and approved for publication by a panel of Highway Engineers delineated over 50 techniques that could represent alternatives to just rip rap. Do you have projects where the environmental concerns and habitat sensitivities preempt the use of excessive rock? The main criteria for being listed as environmentally sensitive is the technique has to exhibit, scientifically determined, environmental and aquatic habitat enhancements. For instance, biologic assays of the fringe and substrate near Bendway Weirs and Rock Vanes (Spurs) revealed a substantial increase in an aquatic habitat, while rock deflectors and Groins (Groynes) exhibited no such improvements! 

Are you interested in hearing more about E-SenSS? Water Quality: Are you interested in how projects have been built in live, environmentally sensitive habitats while meeting Water Quality Standards of 1-2 NTU increase? The “Report” includes not only the 50-some BMPs but also Design Criteria, Construction Standards, and Typical Detailed Drawings provided in AutoCAD or Microstation. “The proof is in the pudding”. Over 2-dozen stream projects built over 15-years provide case studies and proof of the efficacy that environmentally-sensitive, sustainable, bioengineered, Biotechnical methods can provide. 

See our offering of E-SenSS at our Store

 https://dirttime.tv/product/esenss/

 

 

 

During photos 11-2017

 

After Photos  2-2019

 

Give us a shout regarding your interest in Channel and Bank Protection.   In the meantime –  Mark Your Calendars – John will be teaching;

Repairing Entrenched and Degraded (Urbanized) Streams – Techniques and Case Studies

Natural Channel Design and Bioengineering

August 17, 2020 – Seattle WA

This class will be offered on the opening day of StormCon, August 17-19, 2020.  At the Washingtons State Convention Center

https://www.stormcon.com

 

 

The practice of erosion and sediment control has evolved dramatically over the past decade. The Clean Water Act sections, including NPDES, now require sampling and reporting, accountability by certified professionals, and continuing education. The bottom line is Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) must be effective and a certified professional must take professional responsibility by signing off on the plan and BMPs. So the BMPs, which are the “tools of compliance,” must be effective.

Figure 1 Caltrans FEC Training demonstrating the installation of silt fence within CT right-of-way in Compton CA, 2006

 

Figure 2 A forerunner to the Shasta College ECTF – CalTrans Field Erosion Control (FEC) training for CT District 7. This, one of 200+ trainings, site was on location off Wilmington Blvd. in Compton CA. – demonstrating the CT-developed Curb Inlet Gravel Bag Barrier. Note bags filled with clean 3/8″-3/4″ gravel, bags are not placed directly in front of inlet and hooked to reduce protrusion into roadway.

 

Selecting, implementing and monitoring effective BMPs require not just knowledge but significant BMP experiential “wisdom.” This hands-on experience is necessary even for certified professionals like the Professional Engineer, Registered Geologist, CPESC, CISEC and CESCL. These disciplines do not generally have BMP installation curriculum as part of their degree requirements. The increasing need for effective BMPs is going to require experiential, hands-on learning. Shasta College Erosion Control Training Facility provides a prototype for what a state-of-the-art training facility might look like.

The main campus of Shasta College is located in Redding, California, approximately 160 miles north of Sacramento, while the District spans more than 10,000 square miles of rural Northern California, a geographical region is characterized by the agricultural and ranch lands to the south and then ‘ringed’ by mountainous-forested regions to the east, north and west. The District offers general education, transfer and career-technical programs, and basic skills education.

Of interest in relation to this paper is the fact that Shasta Dam, the 8th eighth tallest dam in the United States, impounds Shasta Lake, which is the largest reservoir in the state. Therefore, some of the region’s greatest commodities, —clean water and hydroelectric power—, are produced here.  Also noteworthy are the potential impacts to riparian-aquatic habitats of salmonids from the dam and the erosion and /sedimentation produced by the untreated hydroelectric power transmission lines access roads.

It’s not Rocket Science or Brain Surgery – it is much more difficult!

As a few of my erosion and sediment control trainer-colleagues and I occasionally point out, “The practice of BMP selection, implementation and management is not brain surgery—it’s much more complicated!”

Added to the complexities in the practice, it is also very difficult to acquire well-rounded BMP education without extensive on-site experience.  The state-of-the-art for Erosion and Sediment Control has continued to improve dramatically over the last few decades.  Education and awareness, coupled with enforcement, have provided, though not perfectly, the impetus to move this field of work into the desired realm of cost-effectiveness – with effectiveness as the primary driver.

I graduated from College in 1984 with a degree in Geology and Forest Hydrology and promptly became a Landscape Contractor. I was only two years out of college and a newly qualified CPESC in 1986, when I drew up my first BMP Fact Sheet for the Santa Cruz County Resource Conservation District in 1986. At the time of my hire, the District needed a handout for landowners who had problems with erosion at the outlets of drainage pipes and culverts.  Thereby. my first BMP was for an energy dissipator.  After research, I copied and modified a BMP that utilized rock and old tires, placed at the outlet of “perched culverts.”  Following that introduction to BMPs, in 1992 I produced the first Erosion Control Manuals for both Shasta County and the City of Redding.

I suspect that the straw bale barrier BMP has persisted so many decades is not because it is low-cost and effective, but because a relative “novice” (or apprentice) was given the task of developing a BMP manual or specifications. They simply did what I did—reviewed the publications, copied the BMP, may be modified it a bit—and one of the most ineffective and impractical BMP was re-introduced to the industry again!

I found through the years that effective erosion prevention and sediment control requires knowledge—knowledge of the physical principles involved, like shear stress and energy from raindrop impact, knowledge of plants and organic materials and knowledge of construction practices. But to be a really effective BMP practitioner, one must gain wisdom to augment that knowledge. Wisdom sometimes comes from the realization that knowledge can only get one so far.

The success our industry has in reducing sediment and other pollutants discharged to rivers and streams is directly proportional to our understanding of the BMPs. Much of my early BMP experience came from knowledge gained in college, augmented by my construction experiences and then honed and focused by reviewing and analyzing all the BMP manuals I could get my hands on. The wisdom came from the numerous mistakes I made in the field and the desire to not repeat them. I gained wisdom when, in 1994, I rescinded the recommendation of using straw bales for sediment control by removing that BMP from Erosion Draw and any other BMP Manuals I authored or co-authored.

There is a gap in current erosion and sediment control training if the goal is to graduate or certify professionals who have the prerequisite experience and knowledge necessary to select, implement and inspect an effective erosion control plan. In my experience, the most effective erosion and sediment control training courses or methods of instruction (pedagogy) offer experiential, hands-on, and in-the-field elements that teach to the BMP.

Videos are another way to provide limited experiential learning. The popularity of YouTube videos is a testament to the desire for experiential learning and the effectiveness of how-to videos.

Field Trainings

Between 2000 and 2009, I was one of several training consultants under contract with Caltrans through URS and AEI CASC to develop and present Caltrans Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention Training. There were five training modules, and each module was a one-day class taught by two instructors—except for Module 2. The most popular course offered by Caltrans, Module 2 – Construction Site BMPs and Field Application was a two-day class because it comprised one day in the classroom and a daylong field exercise.

This was by far the most popular course offered by Caltrans. David Franklin and myself I were the primary instructors for Module -2 Field Erosion Control (FEC) Training, which g.  The FEC was facilitated by contracting with a landscape construction company to be on site with a flatbed truck and a Finn T-60 Hydroseeder.  The truck was loaded with materials such as various hydromulches and tackifiers, a bale of straw, silt fence, a sampling of erosion control blankets, gravel bags and fiber rolls.  Various staples, anchors, shovels and sledges rounded out the equipment. Training sites were located all over the State; depending on which district the course was taking place in, usually within a Caltrans right-of-way.

I estimate that we taught the FEC course more than 200 times in the early 2000s.

We primarily wanted to demonstrate how hydromulches are used and what 2000# /ac of BFM looks like compared to 4000# /ac that was specified. We demonstrated what it really took to install a silt fence and how difficult it was to install with the required 12 inches in the soil if wooden stakes are already attached. The inspectors got to see that if the silt fence had 12 inches below ground, as specified, then a tape measure could verify proper installation in that no more than 2 feet extended above the ground. We showed the Caltrans-approved method for placing gravel bags for inlet protection. The attendees spread straw by hand at premeasured rates of 1T/ac and 2T/ac in order to see what 2T/ac of straw mulch looked like and then how to tack it down. The Caltrans attendees got to see Type-1 (a stake through the fiber roll at 4 feet O.C.) and Type-2 Fiber Roll installation, where Type 2 required no trench and used stakes staggered at 2 feet and lashed with a ¼-inch rope. They got to then use their hands to see how well the roll hugged the ground.

Shasta College Erosion Control Training Facility

The Shasta College Erosion Control Training Facility (ECTF) was born from these experiences. Shasta College has had a Heavy Equipment (construction) Operations and Maintenance Certification Program for more than 20 years. Our Equipment Program has grown through the years and continues to do so. We have an active group of academic advisors from the private sector, advising us to the local industries’ future needs. Grants and District matches have increased our equipment inventory to include a 2000ga water truck, Komatsu excavator, bulldozer and motor grader. We have two backhoes, a Cat grader/tractor and an older D-6 Dozer.

Program topics include safety, starting/stopping techniques, job cost analysis, moving soil, watershed restoration, and ecosystem sensitivity. The last two topics are taught through the required watershed restoration class. We determined a training facility would have slopes and flats and drainage facilities. The administration approved the use of nearly 6 acres in the southeast corner of the campus for this purpose.

The ECTF provides a year-round practice facility for the Heavy Equipment Program and a unique facility for the annual BMP Summit.  Usually scheduled for April, the summit invites about 100 attendees for professional-scale BMP training. We also invite manufacturers and suppliers to exhibit at the Summit. A limited number of exhibitors are invited to also showcase their products in the field. This pedagogy then provides theory followed practical demonstrations.

The college has a Finn T-60 Hydromulcher, two static silt fence installation machines and a “barn” full of erosion and sediment control materials. We have a full complement of RECPs, including biodegradable and blankets and mats stitched with more permanent netting. We demonstrate hydromulches derived from wood fiber to straw fiber. We demonstrate and explain what BFMs are and what it means, with regards to application methods and quantity, to achieve 100% coverage.

We also demonstrate the use of compost and compost blankets. Additionally we will demonstrate how to cost-effectively install silt fence and even more cost-effective sediment control barriers such as compost socks, compost berms, fiber rolls and coir rolls.

New products and methods are always an exciting part of the Summit. These include Coir products, Compost materials, the new line of Biotic Soil admixtures that can be applied with Hydraulic Mulches, and innovative runoff control materials like TRMs, Scour Stop, and Shoremax. Rumble strips to prevent track out of mud to the streets.

Additionally, Shasta College will demonstrate the Skimmer Outlet Sediment Basin that along with Coir Netting baffles will present the best end-of-line sediment control available.  Even then we will drain stormwater to a designed bioswale.

The annual BMP Summits at Shasta College have been well received and the attendee evaluations reveal a positive experience. We have a dozen or more repeat attendees, including SWPPP implementation contractors, DOTs, municipalities, State Water Board and RWQCB staff, construction crews, transmission line, railroad and more. Most satisfying are the benefits to our students. Students enrolled in Heavy Equipment technology and Natural Resources are gaining invaluable experience and exposure to an expanding universe with regards to career choices.  Additionally, BMP wisdom will probably serve them well in the future.

 

Figure 3 In 2016 representatives from Frances EPA (ONEMA) attended classes. Their experience contributed to a recently published French Erosion Control Manual. Here ONEMA representative attempts to pull out silt fence installed by slicing. SC has two machines, the Tommy and the McCormick.

 

Figure 4 In 2018 the BMP Summit was followed by CISEC Training, it rained the day after installation so the CISEC students were given a real-life experience.

 

Figure 5 SC has engineered a channel with water source for demonstrating TRMs and Ditch Checks

 

 

Figure 6 At the ECTF trainings we spend time explaining and demystifying the various Hydromulches and Compost applications. Wood and straw hydraulic mulches, BFMs, and tackifiers are handled and then sprayed. The student inspector gets to ‘calibrate’ their eye to 4000#/ac vs 2000#/ac, learn what 100% coverage means, what does Straw Mulch at 2T/ac look like, how do you Tackify Straw and how is compost applied using a blower truck?

 

 

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