Erosion Control With a Silt Fence

Posted by Troy

March 10, 2008

One of the things I like about working for a company where you deal with different kinds of businesses every day, is that no two businesses are alike. You could be dealing with a company that sells scented soap one day, and another one who does work with cattle sperm the next. (Don’t you love, Iowa?)

Today I learned about silt fences and what they do for erosion control.

From what I gather, silt fences are made from a “filter fabric” that has been half-inserted into the ground by a machine sometimes called a silt fence plow or sometimes just called a “silt fence machine.” The fence sends up stopping sediment-filled water, which then promotes the sediment to deposit before the fence. This helps erosion control by helping the water pass through the underlying soil without taking the soil/rocks with it.

The machines that lay down the filter fence are pretty nifty, and slice open the ground while laying the fence down into it. There is a fair amount of fence (sometimes 1/2 the width of the overall fence) that sticks above ground - so you might have seen a silt-fence and not even known about it.

Anyway, just a little “And now you know” moment from me today. I thought it was interesting, especially since erosion control and other “earth shattering” events are all the rage. (Thanks to Al Gore.)