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Yard Waste Compost as a Stormwater Protection Treatment for Construction Sites
Author(s) -
Reinsch Craig T.,
Admiraal David M.,
Dvorak Bruce I.,
Cecrle Chad A.,
Franti Thomas G.,
Stansbury John S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143007x220545
Subject(s) - compost , environmental science , surface runoff , straw , erosion control , green waste , silt , agronomy , stormwater , erosion , environmental engineering , geology , ecology , paleontology , biology
Runoff water quality improvement from three yard waste compost erosion control treatments were compared with two conventional treatments and an untreated control on plots of 3:1 slope during two growing seasons, using natural events and simulated rainfall. Runoff volume, suspended solids, nutrients, biomass, turf shear strength, and turfgrass color scale were monitored. The most effective compost treatment, a 5‐cm thick blown compost blanket, produced 12.7 times less runoff and 9.8 times less sediment load than a straw mat and silt fence treatment. The compost treatments generated eight times more biomass than the straw mat treatments. Root development was significantly better on the compost treatments based on turf shear strength measurements. Tilled‐in compost was not as effective as a compost blanket at reducing sediment loss, particularly before the establishment of grass on the plot. The cost of compost treatments was similar to that of straw mat with silt fence treatments.