E&SC on Stream Restoration Projects

Planning Considerations for Designers

Thad Valentine Jan Patterson, PE, CPESC

NCDENR Raleigh Regional Office Town of Cary

Goals of an E&SC Plan

• Protection of Property & Water Quality
– Prevent accelerated erosion onsite

– Prevent off-site sedimentation

• Requires an integrated system of:

– control practices (Best Management Practices (BMPs)) &
– management techniques (construction sequencing)

• Stabilize site prior to completion of construction

“Persons conducting land-disturbing

activity shall take all reasonable
measures to protect all public and
private property from damage caused
by such activities.”

Source: NC DENR Erosion and Sediment Control Planning and Design Manual

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 E&SC Plan Concepts
• Reduce the amount of off-site water from entering
the site.
• All site water goes through a sediment control
device.
• Runoff is pooled in order to settle sediment before
discharging off site.

Basic Objectives of an E&SC Plan

1) Identify Critical Areas
Identify site areas subject to severe erosion, and off-site areas
especially vulnerable to damage from erosion and sedimentation.

1) Limit Exposed Areas

Limit the size of the area exposed at any one time.

2) Limit Time of Exposure

Limit exposure to the shortest feasible time.

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Basic Objectives of an E&SC Plan (con’t)
4) Control Surface Water
Control surface water run-off originating upgrade of exposed areas in
order to reduce erosion and sediment loss during exposure.

5) Control Sedimentation
All land-disturbing activity is to be planned and conducted so as to
prevent off-site sedimentation damage.

6) Manage Storm Water Runoff

When the increased velocity of storm water runoff resulting from a
land-disturbing activity causes accelerated erosion of the receiving
watercourse, plans shall include measures to control the velocity to
the point of discharge.

Construction Sequence
• One of most important components for successful
project
– Outlines steps of construction process
– Details installation & removal of project components
– Exceptions & modifications anticipated…designer & Land
Quality inspector must approve first

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 Construction Entrance/Exit
• Provides stabilized ingress/egress point
• Located adjacent to public road
• Rough surface to dislodge soil from tires to prevent
tracking onto public/private roads

Construction Entrance/Exit
• Example of construction entrance located adjacent
to home—narrow easement

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 Construction Entrance/Exit
• Consider moving back 10-20 ft from road if steep
transition; requires additional ABC stone

Travel Corridors
• Depict equipment haul roads on plans…never leave
to discretion of contractor
• Helps identify appropriate E&SC measures & limits
of disturbance

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No Travel Corridors Depicted

Revised w/ Travel Corridors

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 Special Sediment Control Fence
•Reduces water flow and retains sediment on-site
•Placed anywhere sediment may flow off site
•Typically used where standard sediment fence would fail

Sediment (Silt) Fence

•Reduces water flow and retains sediment on-site
•Placement
• anywhere sediment may flow off site
•low sides of stockpile & staging areas
•low side of unarmored equipment corridors
•Not to be placed in concentrated flow area

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 Sediment (Silt) Fence
Should silt fence be placed along top of bank?
Not practical unless along completed, functioning section
of stream

Turnout for Sediment Fence

•Opening to allow water to flow through without
undermining sediment fence
•Placed in low point of sediment fence
•Reinforced with a 3-6 ft wide section of Special Sediment
Control Fence

3-6 ft

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 Tree Protection (Safety) Fence
•Polyethylene or polypropylene orange fencing

•Installed along the outside riparian buffer, wetland, or

water boundary located within the construction corridor
•Can be used to protect existing trees by placing around
tree’s drip line

•Installed prior to ANY

land disturbance

•Conform to the
ground contours

Tree Protection (Safety) Fence

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 Clearing & Grubbing
What’s the difference?
• Clearing is removing tops of trees, leaving roots
– Minimal soil disturbance

• Grubbing is removing stumps/roots

– Major soil disturbance
– Greatest soil loss potential

Clearing & Grubbing

Minimize Disturbed Footprint
• The limits of C&G on project is big issue on all but
very smallest restorations
• NCDENR may request note stating C&G in channel
not to exceed distance that can be stabilized w/in
one (1) workday
• May also set requirement for maximum distance
C&G can occur above bank
• Project specific requirements to achieve:
– Limiting disturbed area
– Limiting time area is disturbed

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 Clearing & Grubbing
What NOT To Do
• This far exceeded maximum limit

Stockpile Management
• Stockpile soil materials away from active stream
• Protect with silt fence & turnouts (as needed)
• Cover with tarp if necessary

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 Stockpile Management
• NCDENR requires note restricting temp. stockpile of
soil in a stream that is open to stream flow
• Can you use old channel to stockpile excavated
material when new offline channel is adjacent and
pump around is operational?
• NO! Think about…
– Pump failure
– Storm bursts
– Lack of supplies
– Loss of manpower
• Introducing flows into incomplete,
unstabilized channel can lead to
unacceptable soil loss!

Stockpile Management

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 Be
Prepared!

Need Stockpile Protection

During Construction

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 Temporary Stream Crossing:
Piped Crossing
• Aerial equipment crossing(s)
• Minimizes sediment impacts to stream
• Must pass normal daily flow ++
• Nearly flat approach for stable travel surface

Temporary Stream Crossing:

Piped Crossing

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 Temporary Stream Crossing:
Temporary Pipe Sizing

Reference: NC Division of Forest Resources “Forestry Best Management Practices

Manual” http://www.dfr.state.nc.us/water_quality/bmp_manual.htm

Temporary Stream Crossing:

Timber Bridgemat
• Aerial equipment crossing
• Minimizes sediment impacts to stream
• Placed across top of bank on narrow channels
• Flat approach for stable travel surface

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Temporary Stream Crossing:
Timber Bridgemat

Temporary Stream Crossing:

Timber Bridgemat

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 Sediment Control
When Working In-stream
“Working in the Wet”
• In stream work is performed only when alternatives are
impractical due to:
– Stream size or volume
– Lack of bank side work space for diversion
– Noise from pump around prohibited
– Impractical or prohibited bank access
– Requires NCDENR approval

Construction in the Dry

• Several Methods Include:
• Diversion Channel
• Piped Diversion
• Pump Around
• Main pump
• Impervious dike
• Trash pump
• Dewatering device

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 Diversion Channel
• Bypass channel used to carry normal daily flow and
stormflow—say 10-year storm
• Gravity flow
• Protect with sediment fence
• Line with woven geotextile
• Can add in rock check dams to slow velocity

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 Piped Diversion
• Temporary pipe used to bypass streamflow
and stormflow around site
• Gravity flow
• Do not use when pipe would adversely
impact the aquatic habitat

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 Pump Around
• Mechanical method of streamflow diversion
• Pump sized to handle normal daily flow ++
• Usually pump small sections of channel to reduce cost
• NCDENR may require 24-hr pump around!!
• Consider “quiet” pumps if located near residential areas
• Work with pump contractor to appropriately size pump

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 Impervious Dike
• Temporary impervious barrier placed in stream
– Install upstream of work area for flow diversion
– Install downstream to impound dirty water
• Must pump all (dirty) water between dikes through
dewatering device
• Options include:
– Stone with Impervious Fabric
– Sand Bags
– Prefabricated Dams
– Sheet Piles

Impervious Dike:
Stone with Impervious Fabric
• Impervious fabric wrapped around stone
– Class A/B (4-8 inch) stone typical
– Can use sediment control stone if small drainage area
• Conforms to existing channel shape
• Remove all trees and sharp rocks prior to installation

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 Impervious Dike:
Sand Bags
• Filter bags filled with sand
• Manually stacked in channel (<15 ft tall)
• Wrapped with impervious liner
• Conforms to existing channel shape
• Remove all trees and sharp rocks prior to installation

Impervious Dike:
Prefabricated Dams
• Impervious prefabricated dam
• Typically made of poly-fabric
• Weight of water holds in place
• Remove all trees and sharp rocks prior to installation

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 Impervious Dike:
Sheet Piles
• Interlocking sheet piles
• Driven vertically into streambed
• Keeps work area “moderately” dry
• Cannot be placed where bedrock is near surface

Dewatering the Work Area

• Water between impervious dikes is considered
“dirty” effluent water
• Must be pumped out using submersible pump
• Water is discharged into a dewatering device
– Skimmer basin with baffles
– Stilling basin with baffles
– Geotextile bag

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 Dewatering:
Skimmer Basin w/ Baffles
• Basin receives pumped water from active work area
• Water passes through 1-3 coir fiber baffles
• Water exits basin through surface skimmer—
cleanest water
• Weir in dam for excess flow

Dewatering:
Stilling Basin w/ Baffles
• Method of pumping the “dirty” water from between
impervious dikes into a basin
• Basin “quiets” the water to settle sediment
• Addition of coir fiber baffles to increase sediment
trapping efficiency

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 Dewatering:
Geotextile Bag
• Geotextile bag that settles sediment from pumped water
• Used in areas of limited space
• Must be placed on LEVEL stone pad made of sediment
control stone

Temporary Ditch
• Small ditch or channel that directs runoff into a
basin, sediment dam or rock silt check
• Placed adjacent to haul road to capture sediment
• Can be used along outside perimeter of project to
direct water away from project limits
• Consider lining base of ditch with excelsior or straw
matting

TSD

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Temporary Rock Silt Check-Type A
• Small dam with weir outlet
• Placed in ditch adjacent to haul road to settle
sediment
• Constructed of Class B rip-rap and sediment
control stone
• Naturally formed storage area traps sediment

Polyacrylamide (PAM)
• Water soluble synthetic polymer
• Used for turbidity control after sediment settles
• Forms: dry powder, logs, solution, emulsion

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 Temporary Rock Silt Check-Type A
w/ Excelsior/Coir Matting and PAM
• Modified Type A Silt Check with addition of excelsior
(or coir) matting on top of Sediment Control Stone
• Typically placed in ditch adjacent to haul road to settle
sediment and turbidity
• Sprinkle lower, center portion
of fabric lined weir with 3.5 oz
of PAM 705
• Reapply PAM after 0.5 inch
rainfall or greater

w/ PAM

Wattle
•Placed in ditch adjacent to haul road to settle sediment
•Constructed with fiber wattle, wooden stakes, u-shaped staples,
erosion control matting (PAM optional)
•Naturally formed storage area traps sediment

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 Wattle Installation Guide

•Place erosion control matting as splash pad

• ~ 1/3 upslope and under wattle with
remaining 2/3 down slope
•Staple edges and interior at 1 ft spacing;
staple interior of matting in offset rows

•Place wooden stakes to secure

wattle to ground contour and to
prevent from dislodging in
large/intense rain events
• 4 wooden stakes on down
slope side; angle upslope
•2 wooden stakes on upslope
side; angle down slope

Temporary Rock Silt Check – Type B

• Small dam with center weir

• Constructed with Class B
rip-rap
• Reduces runoff velocity
• Minimizes erosion of ditch
• Typically placed in ditch
adjacent to haul road

1633.02

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 Ideal Spacing for
Silt Checks and Wattles
• Spaced such that flow cascades over check dam or wattle
into a pool of water
•This gives more time for
sediment and flocs to fall
out of suspension

Temporary Rock Sediment Dam –

Type B
• Small dam with weir outlet and built-in sediment basin
• Receives water from temporary ditch
• Traps sediment (and flocs if PAM is used on BMPs in ditch)
• Contributing drainage area of 5 acres or less

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 Slope Drains
• When used with berms can provide temporary
protection of slopes that do not have sufficient
vegetation established

Streambank & Floodplain Stabilization

Why is it important?
• If you build it, IT WILL COME!!!

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Streambank & Floodplain Stabilization

• All disturbed areas required to be stabilized within 14

days
• Slopes steeper than 3:1 should be stabilized in 7 days
• The Best Sediment Control is Good Erosion Control
• Establish vegetation ASAP!

Streambank Stabilization
• Rolled Erosion Control Matting and Vegetation
– Soil amendments (fertilizer, lime, topsoil/compost)
– Seed (temporary & permanent)
– Grain straw mulch (25% coverage)
– 700 g/m2 coir (50% coverage)
– Wooden stakes (2” x 24”)

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Streambank Stabilization

Streambank Stabilization

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Streambank & Floodplain Stabilization
• Hydromulch
– Includes all amendments in one tank
– Seed
– Fertilizer
– Lime
– Water
– Mulch
– Tackifier

Streambank Stabilization
• Live Stakes
– Live cuttings off dormant species
– Installed through matting in winter
– Native, water loving
– Black Willow
– Ninebark
– Elderberry
– Silky Dogwood
– Silky Willow
– Etc…

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 Streambank Stabilization
• Brush Mattress
– Live cuttings off dormant species
– Installed in criss-cross pattern on bank
– Anchored with wire & wooden stakes
– Same species as live stakes

Floodplain Stabilization
• Select Trees & Shrubs by:
– Physiographic region
– Wetland indicator status
– Landscape position
– Soils

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 Floodplain Stabilization

Let’s Review
• Required information for E&SC plan submittal
– Detailed construction sequence
– Equipment travel corridors
– Clearing & grubbing
– Temporary stream crossings
– Stockpile areas
– Construction in dry methods—diversions & dewatering
– Minimize time and footprint of disturbance
– Appropriately placed E&SC measures
– Special site restrictions
– Stabilization

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 Stone Sizes
Min. Median Max.
(inches) (inches) (inches)

Sediment Control Stone ~3/8 ½-3/4 1.5

(washed, no fines)
No.5/No. 57
Structure Stone--Class A 2 4 6
“ “ --Class B 5 8 12

“ “ --Class I 5 10 17

“ “ --Class II 9 14 23

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