Evaluation of Ditch Inlet Protection Products for Sediment Retention

015919880197-91912016White PaperPDFTech ReportFHWA-ICT-16-002ICT-16-003 UILU-ENG-2016-2003R27-102ConstructionEnvironmentMaterials testsDitchesErosion controlSedimentsSediment dischargeDrainageConstructionGeotechnologyHighwaysHydraulics and HydrologyI26: Water Run-off - Freeze-thawI50: Construction and Supervision of ConstructionUnited StatesIllinoisUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignBhattarai, RabinKalita, PrasantaGarcia, Carlos BulnesMonical, JosephStoklosa, MatthewAzeem, AnwarUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dept. of Agricultural and Biological EngineeringIllinois. Dept. of Transportation. Bureau of Materials and Physical ResearchUS Transportation CollectionUpon starting roadside construction work, construction crews must begin by ripping up a considerable amount of the ground. This process leaves areas such as roadside ditches without vegetation cover, which in turn leaves the soil bare and exposed to the elements such as heavy rains. When the rain hits this bare ditch, soil enters the water runoff and flows into ditch inlets. This soil is detrimental to sewer infrastructure as well as to the environment and must be avoided. At the Erosion Control Research and Training Center (ECRTC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, various tests were conducted to test the installation and effectiveness of ditch inlet protection products. These tests analyzed the ability of the products to prevent soil from entering ditch inlets via site runoff. The goal of these tests was to compare the various products and determine which could best be implemented in the field at construction sites. Numerous criteria were examined during testing to make the best recommendations to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The products analyzed in testing were: (1) welded-wire inlet protector made of a porous woven monofilament fabric using two installation methods, (2) sediment log with two installation methods, (3) Dandy Pop, (4) Dandy Bag, (5) drop filter bag, (6) silt fence (with a woven slit tape fabric) at a 2 foot spacing from the inlet, and (7) silt fence with a woven monofilament fabric. Other than the tests done at the ECRTC in the past, there have been only limited studies done of inlet protection products, which makes the tests conducted as part of this project both more difficult and necessary in order to determine what products will work best onsite.75