Erosion Control Products: Conducting a Responsible Project

Every construction project comes with unwanted side effects. Whether it's increasing noise pollution, endangering employees and bystanders, or putting pollutants into the air, there is hardly any way to do a large-scale project without someone speaking out. Responsible construction teams, however, will do everything they can to minimize their impact. One important way to do this is through the use of erosion control products and responsible measures to avoid water pollution. Perhaps more than anything else, water pollution through sediment can disrupt an ecosystem. Here are some things you can do to reduce your impact.

Design

If you want to incorporate erosion control products into your construction project and avoid sedimentary displacement, you need to design it into the plan from the start. If you wait until you have clear signs of water pollution before implementing the precautions, it may be too late. Take a look at some of the cover practices being used by responsible companies working near bodies of water and see what you can do to implement them into your own designs. The engineer you choose to work with is critical here. While it's not necessary to find one with an environmentally conscious background, it doesn't hurt.

Weather

Even with erosion control products in place, you're going to face an uphill battle if you try to do the bulk of your project in inclement weather conditions. Most experts advise performing the bulk of the work in the summer, especially if you're going to be doing quite a bit of earthwork. The benefits to this are several, including reduced costs and quicker time frames. If you have no choice but to do the project in the winter, keep a close eye on the local forecasts and split the project into smaller stages. If snow or frost is expected, be ready with your materials to avoid sediment runoff.

Prepare for the Worst

You may go into a project using only the minimum when it comes to erosion control products and plans. This is fine, if you don't expect to cause much of a disruption. Remember, though, that many of the worst environmental disasters certainly weren't worked into the plan ahead of time. When you're moving huge amounts of ground, it's sometimes impossible to know what could go wrong. Have contingency plans well rehearsed and ready to go. If something goes wrong, you can keep disaster from occurring. The biggest difference between companies that allowed major environmental disasters from occurring and those that didn't is the level of emergency planning in place.