Construction planning can prevent soil loss
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- April 24, 2018
- 1695
Construction planning can prevent soil loss.
Erosion and resultant sedimentation are the greatest causes of water-quality issues in our state.
With construction season finally breaking in earnest, it’s important to remember how important it is to follow best management practices on your construction site. Whether you’re putting up a shop in the corner of your lot or building a brand-new house, you should be aware that ground-disturbing activities almost always come with the possibility of soil loss.
Erosion and resultant sedimentation are the greatest causes of water-quality issues in our state, and construction-site runoff can do decades worth of damage in a single rain event.
Much of that impact can be avoided simply by planning ahead and following some simple and inexpensive guidelines. Save soil, save cost and help save the environment by letting the staff of Holmes Soil and Water Conservation District help you.
At Holmes Soil and Water, we’ll be happy to help you put together a plan to prevent erosion and sedimentation from your new home or small business construction site. We can evaluate your site and recommend best management practices including construction entrance preparation, silt fencing and inlet protection, topsoil stockpiling and protection for trees and sensitive areas, identifying vegetation to be saved, protecting down-slope areas, planning for good post-construction drainage, and revegetating the building site.
Help stop the leading cause of water-quality problems in Ohio.
Why does it matter?
Water quality: Runoff from construction sites can choke streams and aquatic plants and wildlife. Erosion and resultant sedimentation is the single biggest cause of water-quality issues in the state.
Flooding: Sediment deposits reduce stream, culvert, pond and wetland capacities and can alter the course of water flow in a single event, causing ditches and waterways to overflow. The water has to go somewhere!
Property values: A proactive and mindful approach to planning the drainage around your site for the long run before the ground is ever disturbed can pay dividends for the entire lifetime of your project.
Tax dollars: Replacing bridges and culverts, cleaning roadside ditches, and rebuilding roadways damaged by flooding and storm events are a large draw on tax dollars.
Call Holmes Soil and Water Conservation at 330-674-2811 ext. 3, email jlorson@co.holmes.oh.us or stop by our office at 62 W. Clinton St., Millersburg, M-F, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.