WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS TYPES OF EROSION CONTROL PRODUCTS?

What are Rolled Erosion Control Products (RECPs)?

What are Hydraulic Erosion Control Products (HECPs)?

What are Sediment Retention Fiber Rolls (SRFRs)?

RECPs

What are Rolled Erosion Control Products?

Site engineers, consultants, regulatory agencies, earthwork and seeding contractors, and other professionals within the construction industry often are faced with challenges posed by land, nature and weather. Special care must be taken to prevent soil erosion and sedimentation.

Rolled Erosion Control Products (RECPs) provide this special care. RECPs represent the fastest growing segment within the erosion control industry and have quickly evolved to include a wide variety of temporary degradable open weave textiles and erosion control blankets, as well as permanent turf reinforcement mats.

RECPs have many desirable, environmental-friendly attributes including:

• They limit soil erosion.
• They retain soil moisture, which in turn promotes seed germination.
• They protect seed and seedlings during heavy rainfall or winds enabling better vegetation establishment.

As there are many types of products available for erosion control, product selection is based on many factors including:

• Functional longevity required (short term, long term or permanent usage).
• Relative cost of materials, installation and maintenance.
• Visual impact to the public.

Temporary RECPs

For applications where natural vegetation alone will provide sufficient permanent erosion protection, a temporary rolled erosion control product may be used. Temporary erosion control products provide necessary longevity and performance properties to effectively control erosion and assist in the establishment of vegetation under the anticipated immediate site conditions.

One form of a temporary RECP is an open weave textile (OWT). OWTs are a degradable product composed of processed natural or polymer yarns woven into a matrix, used to provide erosion control and facilitate vegetation establishment.

Another temporary RECP is an erosion control blanket (ECB), which is a degradable RECP composed of processed natural or polymer fibers mechanically, structurally or chemically bound together to form a continuous matrix to provide erosion control and facilitate vegetation establishment.

Permanent RECPs

For applications where natural vegetation alone will not sustain expected flow conditions and/or provide sufficient long-term erosion protection, a permanent rolled erosion control product may be used. Permanent erosion control products provide necessary performance properties to effectively control erosion and reinforce vegetation under the expected long-term site conditions.

A turf reinforcement mat (TRM) is a permanent RECP composed of non-degradable synthetic fibers, filaments, nets, wire mesh and/or other elements, processed into a permanent, three-dimensional matrix of sufficient thickness. TRMs, which may be supplemented with degradable components, are designed to impart immediate erosion protection, enhance vegetation establishment and provide long-term functionality by permanently reinforcing vegetation during and after maturation. TRMs typically are used in hydraulic applications, such as high flow ditches and channels, steep slopes, stream banks, and shorelines, where erosive forces may exceed the limits of natural, unreinforced vegetation or in areas where limited vegetation establishment is anticipated.

The mission of ECTC is to develop performance standards, uniform testing procedures and guidance on the application and installation of RECPs. Click here for information on ECTC’s RECP training opportunities.

Click here for additional erosion control industry terms.

To learn more about RECPs please contact ECTC.

HECPs

What are Hydraulically Applied Erosion Control Products?

Over the past 50 years, hydraulic seeding/planting equipment, hydraulic mulches and performance enhancing additives have shown continuous evolution and improvement, resulting in equipment and materials that offer enhanced performance and greater productivity over many traditional methods of controlling erosion and establishing vegetation. Despite the documented advantages and widespread use of these newly evolving technologies, the understanding of Hydraulically Applied Erosion Control Products (HECPs) and their cost-effective benefits remain largely unknown. Much of this stems from a lack of direction and material categorization by the hydraulic erosion control industry. Traditionally, the colored slurries have been applied on areas such as steep slopes, commercial and residential properties, golf courses and athletic facilities. To an untrained eye, the materials exiting the hydraulic mulching equipment appear nondescript. However, contained within these slurries are a growing family of refined fiber matrices, tackifiers, super-absorbents, flocculating agents, man-made fibers, plant biostimulants and other performance enhancing additives.

The two primary goals when using HECPs are erosion control and vegetative establishment. HECPs can provide immediate erosion protection while creating an environment that assists in accelerating vegetative establishment. Vegetation then provides the long term erosion protection while improving site aesthetics and acting as a filter to remove sediment and other undesirable storm water constituents from entering receiving water bodies. The following properties are most relevant when attempting to achieve these goals:

• Functional Longevity
• Erosion Control Effectiveness
• Vegetative Establishment

In an effort to begin a proper classification of Hydraulically Applied Erosion Control Products, the Erosion Control Technology Council has created definitions for four distinct categories of various hydraulic mulches. They are:

Fiber Reinforced Matrix (FRM)
A hydraulically-applied matrix containing organic defibrated fibers, cross-linked insoluble hydro-colloidal tackifiers, and reinforcing natural and / or synthetic fibers to provide erosion control and facilitate vegetation establishment on very steep slopes and designed to be functional for a minimum of 12 months.

Bonded Fiber Matrix (BFM)
A hydraulically-applied matrix containing organic defibrated fibers and cross-linked insoluble hydro-colloidal tackifiers to provide erosion control and facilitate vegetation establishment on steep slopes and designed to be functional for a minimum of 6 months.

Stabilized Mulch Matrix (SMM)
A hydraulically-applied matrix containing defibrated organic fibers with, at a minimum, one of the following additives: soil flocculants, crosslinked hydro-colloidal polymers, crosslinked tackifiers. Utilized to provide erosion control and facilitate vegetation establishment on moderate slopes and designed to be functional for a minimum of 3 months.

Hydraulic Mulch (HM)
A hydraulically-applied material(s) containing defibrated paper, wood and / or natural fibers that may or may not contain tackifiers used to facilitate vegetation establishment on mild slopes and designed to be functional for up to 3 months.

Over time, ECTC will continue to develop a complete classification system for HECPs that extends beyond categorical definitions.

The mission of ECTC is to develop performance standards, uniform testing procedures and guidance on the application and installation of RECPs, SRFRs and HECPs.

Click here for additional erosion control industry terms.

To learn more about HECPs please contact ECTC.

SRFRs

What are Sediment Retention Fiber Rolls?

Site engineers, consultants, regulatory agencies, earthwork and seeding contractors, and other professionals within the construction industry often are faced with challenges posed by land, nature and weather. Special care must be taken to prevent soil erosion, sediment exiting site perimeters, and sedimentation in receiving waters.

Sediment Retention Fiber Rolls (SRFRs) can help to provide this special care.  SRFRs are also known as "wattles," "socks," or "tubes." SRFRs slow and disperse  runoff, thereby reducing soil erosion, and increasing infiltration.  SRFRs  reduce sediment in runoff through deposition, filtration, or both, thereby reducing the amount of sediment leaving site perimeters and/or entering retention ponds, lakes and other water bodies. The Erosion Control Technology Council’s (ECTC) approved definition of a Sediment Retention Fiber Roll is:

A Sediment Retention Fiber Roll is a manufactured 3-dimensional device of a specified filler material encapsulated within a flexible containment material utilized in sediment flow control applications.

There are many examples of filler materials that may be used in Sediment Retention Fiber Rolls.  Some of these materials are: compost, rice straw, wheat straw, excelsior fiber and wood fiber.

The mission of ECTC is to develop performance standards, uniform testing procedures and guidance on the application and installation of RECPs, SRFRs and HECPs.

Click here for additional erosion control industry terms.

To learn more about SRFRs please contact ECTC.