Soil & Sediment Traps

Soil and sediment traps are designed to trap and hold soil on the slope, and more broadly disperse overland water and sediment flows.

Contour Log Felling

Rehabilitation workers often use burned logs onsite to create a mechanical barrier to water flow that also traps sediment and promotes infiltration. Dead trees are felled, limbed, cut to manageable size and placed on a contour perpendicular to the direction of the slope.

Long tubes of plastic netting filled with straw, known as straw wattles, often are used in the same way as logs because they are easier and less hazardous to place. Use of weed-free straw is critical to avoid the introduction of noxious weeds.

Silt Fences

In areas where large-scale surface runoff with significant sedimentation is expected, fences hung with specially designed fabric can be erected.

Proper installation of silt fences is critical to preventing blowouts.