Mass Grading: Preventing Our Waterbodies from Becoming Sediment Basins

Mass grading sites during overland flow conditions can be the most erosive and challenging sites to manage runoff and minimize offsite sedimentation. Let's hear from grading contractors who are skilled at approaching and executing mass grading from the erosion and sediment control installation, weathering storm events, and being able to grade a site soon after the rain has moved on. Let’s chat with some grading contractors about getting compliance on the ground and planning for site success before and after the plan is approved.

Full Abstract: Complete Proposal for Your Session: A good erosion and sediment control plan for a mass grading site located in the piedmont will begin with a strong foundation and construction sequence that includes selective clearing/timbering to install vegetated top dewatering sediment ponds along the project perimeter, stable temporary runoff conveyances, and a vegetated buffer upstream of perimeter silt fence. The plan would address critical areas on the projects such as stream crossings with smaller storage structures, stable runoff conveyances, vegetation, and stone approaches. It is wise to also utilize the trees cleared to create single shredded mulch and preserve it onsite to be used as groundcover through the life of construction.

All that sounds good. But when was the last time you saw textbook erosion and sediment control installation on a construction site. The purpose of this session is to hear some ways on how several successful site contractors prepare to succeed on a site long before they break ground. Those same contractors are going to pose questions back to the audience in a roundtable format to encourage critical planning for those involved in the construction process.

The contractors on the panel will be from the Eastern US, where rainfall is our vector for erosion. These contractors are used to working on sites where much of the good land to be developed is gone. Many of our site’s soil is sandy clay loam, with rock that will need to be blasted, and buffered waterbodies that meander throughout many of our mass graded sites, and maybe an offsite downstream freshwater pond. Let’s chat about setting ourselves up for success so that our streams don’t become sediment basins.

Panelists:: Grading contractors in the eastern US with 15-30 years of experience.

Moderator Skill Set:: Coordinated a panel presentation with a development group such as this at NCDEQ/SE-IECA workshop event in 12/2022. Vision is to share the panels expertise in how they approach the problem of a new site and how they can help others plan for success.