Erosion Control Remedy Has Lasted 25 Years
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“My wife and I bought the property where we live more than 30 years ago because it was quiet, wooded and had a small creek that ran behind the house,” says retired New York contractor John Collins. “We didn’t know at the time that the creek would flood even when we got 2 to 3 in. of rain, and wash away the bank. After one really heavy rain the creek washed 20 to 30 ft. off our property, and I knew I had to do something more than just put dirt back and add some rocks.”
Collins asked local conservation officials what he could do, and they said the best way to preserve the bank was to use large boulders. Collins says he told them, “I’m just a small landowner here, someone who doesn’t have the means to repair 300 ft. of creek bank with several hundred tons of rock.”
Collins came up with a solution that’s lasted more than 25 years without any additional improvements. “I knew from construction jobs I’d worked on that hillsides and banks can be stabilized if they’re packed well and protected with wire mesh. Our idea on the creek bank was to put the dirt back in place, put rocks and scrap concrete over the dirt at the base of bank, and pack it in well. Then I cut 12-ft. pieces of chain link fence and laid it over black plastic on the slanted part of the bank. We also built up the area that had washed out of our yard, packed it in real well and seeded it with deep rooting grass.”
His project required 7 loads of old concrete sidewalk slabs, 40 loads of fill and several rolls of old chain link fence. Collins staked the fencing together to create a solid wire mat, then secured the top, bottom and a few places in the center with pieces of re-bar bent in the shape of an L. “We also covered the bottom with rocks to keep the water from washing under the fence and into the bank.”
Collins says the native grasses he seeded on the bank grew real fast and anchored the fence to the stream bank in a few months. “The mesh was fairly easy to install, and it didn’t cost us anything because a neighbor was throwing it away.”
Collins says that even though his small part of the streambank is preserved, he sees other places along the stream that erode more every year because water is washing across bare soil on the banks. “Some people think plain rocks will stop erosion, but in my experience I think adding a fence mat or another type of mat that grass and small trees can grow through works much better.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Collins, 8498 State Highway 12, Sherburne, N.Y. 13460 (ph 607 674-9079).
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Erosion Control Remedy Has Lasted 25 Years MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous “My wife and I bought the property where we live more than 30 years ago because it was quiet wooded and had a small creek that ran behind the house ” says retired New York contractor John Collins “We didn’t know at the time that the creek would flood even when we got 2 to 3 in of rain and wash away the bank After one really heavy rain the creek washed 20 to 30 ft off our property and I knew I had to do something more than just put dirt back and add some rocks ” Collins asked local conservation officials what he could do and they said the best way to preserve the bank was to use large boulders Collins says he told them “I’m just a small landowner here someone who doesn’t have the means to repair 300 ft of creek bank with several hundred tons of rock ” Collins came up with a solution that’s lasted more than 25 years without any additional improvements “I knew from construction jobs I’d worked on that hillsides and banks can be stabilized if they’re packed well and protected with wire mesh Our idea on the creek bank was to put the dirt back in place put rocks and scrap concrete over the dirt at the base of bank and pack it in well Then I cut 12-ft pieces of chain link fence and laid it over black plastic on the slanted part of the bank We also built up the area that had washed out of our yard packed it in real well and seeded it with deep rooting grass ” His project required 7 loads of old concrete sidewalk slabs 40 loads of fill and several rolls of old chain link fence Collins staked the fencing together to create a solid wire mat then secured the top bottom and a few places in the center with pieces of re-bar bent in the shape of an L “We also covered the bottom with rocks to keep the water from washing under the fence and into the bank ” Collins says the native grasses he seeded on the bank grew real fast and anchored the fence to the stream bank in a few months “The mesh was fairly easy to install and it didn’t cost us anything because a neighbor was throwing it away ” Collins says that even though his small part of the streambank is preserved he sees other places along the stream that erode more every year because water is washing across bare soil on the banks “Some people think plain rocks will stop erosion but in my experience I think adding a fence mat or another type of mat that grass and small trees can grow through works much better ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup John Collins 8498 State Highway 12 Sherburne N Y 13460 ph 607 674-9079
