Belted Strand Retention Fabric: an Alternative to Silt Fences for Erosion and Sediment Control

In this study SiltSaver belted strand retention fence was compared with traditional type C silt fence with the goal of determining if it would be acceptable for use as a sediment barrier in Georgia. ASTM standard methods were used to evaluate flow through and sediment removal efficiency using three different site specific soils. For flow without sediment, there were no statistical differences, although the BSRF showed a slightly higher flow rate than the type C fence that was tested. Flow rates with sediment were generally 30% to 85% lower on the BSRF than the type C fence with the greater differences observed with the finer particle sizes and the double concentration runs. This indicates the influence of the soil particles on the flow rate and may suggest that the sediment trapped behind the fence is controlling the flow rate more than the fence itself. The results from the analysis of the effluent and sediment removal efficiency indicated that the BSRF was more effective at retaining the sediment behind the fence. Both the suspended solids content and the turbidity of the effluent was lower using the BSRF fence material than the Type C fence material for all test conditions. Sediment removal efficiencies for the BSRF were significantly higher for all three tested soils at both the single and double concentration. Additional tests were conducted using variations of the ASTM standard and these tests showed similar trends. Testing also indicated that the design of the supporting apparatus was sufficient for holding the materials. While no testing program can provide results to prove an application will function under all conditions that will be encountered in the field, our testing indicates that the SiltSaver BSRF should be an effective alternative to standard Type C silt fence.