Top Shoreline Stabilization Techniques For Managing Erosion
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Canals and other waterways are an aspect of many locations that are crucial for its prosperity as well as adding an aesthetic fluidity to the location. Waterways are found in most populated locations, such as country clubs, residential communities, and golf courses, but soil and sediment erosion have become something of great concern to many owners and managers of these locations that have waterways. Shoreline stabilization methods for the control of soil erosion. Find out more about what you can do to manage erosion around your property.
Due to the damaging effects that erosion can have on these waterways, many innovations and techniques have been created to prevent or at least slow down the erosion process; many of which have proven successful in preserving the continuity of the waterway’s shoreline. These methods should be greatly considered by the managers of country club, residential locations, and golf clubs because there are benefits one can receive by implementing these means onto their locations. The following article will touch upon the various techniques that have proven successful at preventing shoreline erosion.
The primary idea behind shoreline technologies and erosion prevention is keeping soil in its place and keeping it from washing away. Many factors contribute to the sedimentary erosion of canals and other waterways, the most obvious being the water itself. Due to its nature, there is a natural current to most waterways; this current wears away at the soil and sediment, which diminishes the waterways’ appeal.
Another big factor of soil erosion is the wind. Depending on how fast the wind is blowing, more or less soil will be blown off the shore. The wind contributes to shoreline erosion not just on artificial waterways but also on beaches as well. As the wind blows harder, the waves it causes get bigger. Which will continually wear away at the sediment resting on the shoreline. Since the shoreline of most artificial waterways is exposed and vulnerable. The waves will have a field day crash up against the shoreline and deplete the amount found on the shoreline.
Water and sediment move with a current underneath the surface; a canal’s current can increase the soil erosion process, which can cause a lot of damage to the waterway. The current acts like a saw of sorts, which cuts away, not only at the sediment on the shoreline but it makes its way underneath the surface of the barrier, making a hollow, cave-like formation that makes for an unstable surface that could collapse.
This specifically is detrimental for properties found in front of canals because the closer a shoreline is eroded to the property. The more it’ll cost to repair; this will also cause the property value to drop, reducing the ROI (return on investment) for those who bought the property. It also doesn’t look good if you’re within one of these apartments and you see a heavily-reduced shoreline approaching your condo; it gives off an unsafe feeling.
As mentioned above, the best shoreline technologies that prevent soil from being washed away from the waterway’s bank; new innovations have been designed to perform this task, many of which have proven successful at doing this. The following list will mention some of these successful techniques and innovations at preventing shoreline erosion.
1. Soil Erosion Fences
This technique is used more in construction. Other industrial work locations which have a lot of sediment that needs to be kept in place. The fence technique can be used both on land or in a waterway; the fences’ material is porous which allows water to flow freely through the fence, but is small enough to hold the sediment in place.
Even when there’s construction being performed in a canal or artificial water, this fence does its job well. A development of this technique by the company Sox Erosion Control called the Soxfence; this innovation uses improved fibres to prevent the fibre’s disintegration, which will cost more to replace and take more time from the project at hand.
2. Vegetation Techniques
The shoreline’s plants have also been proven to combat soil erosion on the banks of waterways successfully. The shoreline’s plants that are used thrive in mucky, sediment-filled waters; these are wetland plants whose roots dig in deep and hold the soil in place. This shorelines plants technique is most effective in ponds and other non-flowing waterways.
3. Run-off Pipes
Run-off pipes are essential to have on agricultural areas or anywhere else where there’s a lot of sediment which needs to remain in place. These pipes are strategically positioned at low points in the field or in the yard where rainwater accumulates; the pipes then designates the run-off to a pond where it doesn’t interfere with the soil or sediment which is used at the site.
4. The ShoreSOX
Another innovation by Sox Erosion Control is the ShoreSOX; this technique uses the same methodology as other techniques, which are the reinforcement of the embankments of the shoreline. With the shoreSOX, the special fabrics used with the soxfence covers the waterway’s barrier. Which is filled and covered with soil or other organic compost; this allows grass and other vegetation to grow on top of the fabrics.
5. The Dredgesox
The Dredgesox uses the same technique that the shoreSOX uses, with the exception that the fabrics are filled with sediment from the waterway’s bottom. The company uses amphibious vehicles to extract the necessary sediment from the waterway’s bottom; this sediment is rich in nutrients that allow grass and other vegetation to grow and mask the Dredgesox.
People who manage locations where there are waterways should employ the very best methods the market has to offer because the consequences of not having proper soil erosion prevention methods can lead to costly damages and repairs. The techniques mentioned have proven to be successful at combating soil erosion because they’ve been developed from past techniques which had many mistakes. An investment into one of the techniques mentioned above can prevent damage to the property found near the waterway. Which is what these techniques have been designed to do. A small investment in these techniques can save you a lot of money and prosperity in the future.
