When sheet runoff from a major highway created gullies and rill erosion problems along Rutherford Road just east of Highway 27 near Vaughan, ON, aggressive erosion control methods were needed. Fortunately, the timing, along with a little help from Mother Nature, helped quickly stabilize a critical slope in in August 2011. Previously installed riprap was not enough to slow the volume or velocity of water gushing down the embankment after a major storm battered the area.
“With a slope of approximately 2:1, erosion protection measures were required,” explains J. J. Breede with Terrafix Geosynthetics Inc. With the use of a backhoe, the contractor, Maram Building Corp., prepared the subgrade.
When sheet runoff from a major highway created gullies and rill erosion problems along Rutherford Road just east of Highway 27 near Vaughan, ON, aggressive erosion control methods were needed. Fortunately, the timing, along with a little help from Mother Nature, helped quickly stabilize a critical slope in in August 2011. Previously installed riprap was not enough to slow the volume or velocity of water gushing down the embankment after a major storm battered the area.
“With a slope of approximately 2:1, erosion protection measures were required,” explains J. J. Breede with Terrafix Geosynthetics Inc. With the use of a backhoe, the contractor, Maram Building Corp., prepared the subgrade.
[text_ad]
“Panels of 200-millimeter-deep Terraweb, which are 2.54 meters wide by 6.5 meters long, were stretched out and pinned down with 450-millimeter steel J-Pins. After they were laid in place, the cells were filled with topsoil and hydroseeded, followed by coverage with C200 double-net coconut blankets for additional erosion protection. Within a few days, vegetation had taken place, coalescing with the surrounding marsh area,” says Breede.
Terrafix coir mats are made of coconut husk fiber and are completely biodegradable. Because the mats are more flexible than matting made from bristle coir fiber, they have better interface with the soil surface, thus encouraging seed germination. Additionally, the fiber can absorb water, so it acts much like mulch on soil surfaces or as a “wick” in the soil layer. Other uses of the coir mats and logs include slope and channel stabilization, stream and riverbank stabilization, wetland construction, dams, and detention ponds.
Coir mats, with their high tensile strength and extreme durability, are suitable for the most severe erosion control problems and can have a lifespan of three to six years, allowing for vegetation to become fully established. Woody or shrubby plants grow readily through the open mesh construction in the mats, while receiving nutrients from the biodegradation of the materials. All of these features help to accelerate seed germination and the development of riparian habitat.
[text_ad]
Good uniform soil coverage is one of the keys to having an effective erosion control project that prevents water from forming rills, such as was originally the problem at the Vaughan site. After the proper erosion control BMPs were installed, says Breede, the difference was easy to see once the grass and native seed was established. Breede added that such good germination was also due to planting in spring and then getting a good, wet summer.
“Panels of 200-millimeter-deep Terraweb, which are 2.54 meters wide by 6.5 meters long, were stretched out and pinned down with 450-millimeter steel J-Pins. After they were laid in place, the cells were filled with topsoil and hydroseeded, followed by coverage with C200 double-net coconut blankets for additional erosion protection. Within a few days, vegetation had taken place, coalescing with the surrounding marsh area,” says Breede.
Terrafix coir mats are made of coconut husk fiber and are completely biodegradable. Because the mats are more flexible than matting made from bristle coir fiber, they have better interface with the soil surface, thus encouraging seed germination. Additionally, the fiber can absorb water, so it acts much like mulch on soil surfaces or as a “wick” in the soil layer. Other uses of the coir mats and logs include slope and channel stabilization, stream and riverbank stabilization, wetland construction, dams, and detention ponds.
Coir mats, with their high tensile strength and extreme durability, are suitable for the most severe erosion control problems and can have a lifespan of three to six years, allowing for vegetation to become fully established. Woody or shrubby plants grow readily through the open mesh construction in the mats, while receiving nutrients from the biodegradation of the materials. All of these features help to accelerate seed germination and the development of riparian habitat.
When sheet runoff from a major highway created gullies and rill erosion problems along Rutherford Road just east of Highway 27 near Vaughan, ON, aggressive erosion control methods were needed. Fortunately, the timing, along with a little help from Mother Nature, helped quickly stabilize a critical slope in in August 2011. Previously installed riprap was not enough to slow the volume or velocity of water gushing down the embankment after a major storm battered the area.
“With a slope of approximately 2:1, erosion protection measures were required,” explains J. J. Breede with Terrafix Geosynthetics Inc. With the use of a backhoe, the contractor, Maram Building Corp., prepared the subgrade.
[text_ad]
“Panels of 200-millimeter-deep Terraweb, which are 2.54 meters wide by 6.5 meters long, were stretched out and pinned down with 450-millimeter steel J-Pins. After they were laid in place, the cells were filled with topsoil and hydroseeded, followed by coverage with C200 double-net coconut blankets for additional erosion protection. Within a few days, vegetation had taken place, coalescing with the surrounding marsh area,” says Breede.
Terrafix coir mats are made of coconut husk fiber and are completely biodegradable. Because the mats are more flexible than matting made from bristle coir fiber, they have better interface with the soil surface, thus encouraging seed germination. Additionally, the fiber can absorb water, so it acts much like mulch on soil surfaces or as a “wick” in the soil layer. Other uses of the coir mats and logs include slope and channel stabilization, stream and riverbank stabilization, wetland construction, dams, and detention ponds.
Coir mats, with their high tensile strength and extreme durability, are suitable for the most severe erosion control problems and can have a lifespan of three to six years, allowing for vegetation to become fully established. Woody or shrubby plants grow readily through the open mesh construction in the mats, while receiving nutrients from the biodegradation of the materials. All of these features help to accelerate seed germination and the development of riparian habitat.
[text_ad]
Good uniform soil coverage is one of the keys to having an effective erosion control project that prevents water from forming rills, such as was originally the problem at the Vaughan site. After the proper erosion control BMPs were installed, says Breede, the difference was easy to see once the grass and native seed was established. Breede added that such good germination was also due to planting in spring and then getting a good, wet summer.
Good uniform soil coverage is one of the keys to having an effective erosion control project that prevents water from forming rills, such as was originally the problem at the Vaughan site. After the proper erosion control BMPs were installed, says Breede, the difference was easy to see once the grass and native seed was established. Breede added that such good germination was also due to planting in spring and then getting a good, wet summer.
