A Technical Guidance Manual:
Terminology and Index Testing Procedures for Rolled Erosion Control Products

1. BACKGROUND

While the erosion control industry has grown significantly in response to continued infrastructure development and increased awareness of water quality problems, there remain several challenges facing the industry.

• While the erosion control industry has grown significantly in response to continued infrastructure development and increased awareness of water quality problems, there remain several challenges facing the industry.

• The user base remains largely uneducated about the differences in quality between products, and how best to identify appropriate materials.

• Performance analysis via accelerated flow testing, while crucial to successful engineering design and installation, has remained an expensive undertaking. The specifier often relies solely on index physical and mechanical properties to determine which products to use.

• A variety of product compositions and structures make test standardization difficult, confusing the process of index property comparisons among products. In addition, manufacturers currently providing erosion control products often differ in their application of failure criteria.

• State and independent commercial laboratories, when performing index tests to confirm manufacturer’s product information, have often incorrectly applied test methods resulting in user mistrust and confusion.