Evaluation and Modification of Wire-Backed Nonwoven Geotextile Silt Fence for Use As a Ditch Check

Abstract

Construction activities require contractors to install, continuously monitor, and maintain controls to minimize erosion and sediment transport. Construction sites discharge up to 100 times more sediment per acre than agriculture land activities because of mechanized compaction of bare soils that decreases infiltration capacity, increases runoff volumes, and increases erosion potential. Silt fence perimeter controls are widely used by the construction industry to intercept and impound stormwater runoff sheet flow, forming large impoundment areas ideal for sedimentation. Ditch checks are often used to minimize channel erosion and promote sedimentation in conveyance channels through runoff impoundment. Structural failures of silt fence have caused many state agencies to exclude their use in concentrated flows. Researchers at the Auburn University-Erosion and Sediment Control Testing Facility (AU-ESCTF) have evaluated the use of wire backed, nonwoven geotextile silt fence as ditch checks using large-scale testing techniques. This research has shown that silt fence, properly installed, can be used as a ditch check successfully. A longevity test of an enhanced silt fence ditch check installation resulted in sediment retention of 91.2% by volume.