It's that time of year again! As the temperatures heat up summer thunderstorms follow. In the Mid-Atlantic, and most of the country, summer thunderstorms are common occurrences. These storms usually produce a larger amount of rain in a short period of time. This can lead to devastating erosion, not only in the natural world, but also on job sites. These storms can seem to come out of nowhere with little to no warning.
What is the best way to protect your job site during the summer months?
Of course, having adequate erosion control BMPs on-site to deploy at a moments notice is helpful, but not all erosion controls are equal. If you are using a hydraulic mulch, or other spray on type of erosion control, it may need to cure before it can protect against erosion. Erosion control blankets take time and labor to install. The same goes for sediment controls.
In my opinion, the best way to protect a site is to properly plan for these storms. If you can avoid having too many acres open at once you will have less area that needs to be protected. By installing erosion controls as required, when temporary disturbance has ceased and will not continue for 14 days or more, (may be different in your locality) or have ceased permanently, you will be ahead of the game when it comes to the sudden storms. This is all easier said than done, schedules, the availability of labor, budgets, and overall project planning may hinder efforts but good planning does go a long way.
What are your best management practices regarding those sudden summer thunderstorms?