Soil Erosion
Erosion should be an important consideration for all construction projects or home maintenance. Keeping appropriate drainage and retention can prevent many problems before they start. Please exercise best practices when dealing with drainage. Some examples include:
- Minimize clearing and exposed soil
- Limit grading to small areas
- Vegetate, mulch or stabilize all exposed areas as soon as land alterations have been completed
- Rough grade or terrace slopes.
- Cover or seed all dirt stockpiles.
- Protect storm drain inlets.
- Install vegetative buffers along water bodies.
- Maintain construction entrances by removing mud from tires of construction vehicles before entering a paved roadway.
- Place a barrier behind the curb such as Silt Screen or Siding Material where soil runoff may occur.
Illegal dumping on City or public property is a misdemeanor and may be punishable by a fine of $500 plus court costs or by imprisonment of 30 days or both. Guidelines for installing water lines and sprinkler systems are available. If you have questions, please call the Planning and Zoning Department at 316-744-2451, ext. 120.
Soil Erosion
Soil erosion is a natural process that occurs when top soil is displaced by wind or storm water run-off. For municipalities, water runoff is a costly problem that often goes unnoticed and can be easily corrected with a few simple actions by builders and homeowners. It has been estimated that for every acre of land under construction, an average of three-to-six dump trucks of soil are washed into nearby bodies of water or deposited into the storm water drainage system.
Soil erosion can be divided into two types; sheet erosion and gully erosion:
- Sheet erosion occurs when raindrops strike unprotected soil, bouncing loose dirt particles that are then rinsed away with the draining storm water.
- Gully erosion occurs when concentrated flows of storm water wear a channel into unprotected soil and overtime create a deep "gully" that carries away draining storm water.
Implementing effective erosion control techniques are an important step in the prevention of soil loss and reducing the potential for increased water pollution. Erosion control should be an important consideration for all construction projects and home maintenance. Most often erosion control methods involve the creation of physical barriers to contain or divert the flow of excess storm water. Fortunately there a variety of erosion-control methods that are relatively inexpensive and can be done with materials that can be obtained locally. Putting materials to use for soil erosion is a straightforward process. The knowledge needed to implement appropriate erosion control is not extensive and is simply a matter of thinking about controlling the effects of rainfall and the storm water runoff.
Some common erosion control materials and practices include:
- Gravel drives for use by vehicles which must leave paved roadways
- Incorporate erosion control into new and existing landscapes
- Limit vehicle access to only roads and streets, keeping vehicles off unprotected and future yard areas
- Manufactured mats and screens to crate barriers between unprotected soils and paved roadways
- Mulch to cover unprotected soil
- Planting of new lawns should use erosion control where needed
- Preserve existing trees and vegetation during periods of construction
- Replace vegetation as soon as possible to prevent future soil erosion
- Silt fence or straw bales to trap sediment on the down slope side of inclines or hills