Contain Enviro Services Ltd. has been in business for over 15 years setting precedence for top quality service, innovation and design. We have implemented these demands for a wide variety of challenging projects covering several areas of the industry.
Contain has been required to supply materials for a wide spectrum of demanding projects including erosion control and several other applications.
Once an area has been disturbed by a construction project and its native vegetation has been removed and left unprotected, the area is susceptible to erosion by wind and rain. Channels, rills, and gullies will form on the surface and the area will be permanently altered by the time native vegetation has reclaimed this section, which, depending on the location, could take several years to accomplish. This is not an option for most construction projects as the landscaped area adjacent to any road or structure is not there simply for aesthetic reasons, it forms a component of the overall stability of the structure. Erosion around or under an overpass or bridge could have severe consequences on the overall integrity of the structure. A preventative measure is the use of an erosion control blanket to provide temporary protection to the top-soil and germinating seeds until a root structure can be established so that the area can resist erosion naturally.
Erosion and Sediment Control
The traditional construction technique is to landscape the area to its intended design, i.e. to shed water away from a structure, and then top-soil is placed over the area in the correct thickness to support the desired vegetation. The area is then seeded, then directly afterwards protected by erosion control blankets (ECB’s, which are rolled out over the entire surface. The intent of the ECB is to protect the seedlings until they form the required root structure to reinforce the surface, and then to biodegrade, offering up a food source for the growing vegetation.
A variety of erosion control blankets are available, constructed from organic biodegradable materials such as coconut, straw, or a combination of the two materials. The recommended ECB depends on the site conditions, meaning, what is the length and angle of the slope to be re-vegetated? If the area is quite large and steep, then a more robust material should be selected, if the area is small and relatively flat then a less sturdy ECB will do. The chart in the technical section outlines the suggested material depending on length and angle of the slope.
