BMP Installations Continue

16 09 2013

BMP installations have continued throughout the summer, after our initial installations of rock in ditches at Kew Vasseur and Randall Roads in Fayston in November 2012. In July and August 2013, we installed compost socks in ditches at two sites on Prickly Mountain Road in Warren and on Bragg Hill Road in Fayston. The compost socks have a diameter of 12 inches and are ten feet long. The biodegradable, porous compost socks are meant to hold sediment back while allowing water to continue flowing down the ditch. Multiple compost socks are installed in each ditch at an interval determined by specific site characteristics, such as road grade. On the lower portion of Prickly Mountain Road and Bragg Hill Road, we installed single compost socks along the entire ditch; while on the upper portion of Prickly Mountain Road, the compost socks were stacked. So far, the compost socks at all three sites have been able to endure a number of storms and have proven to keep some sediment from moving down the ditches. However, we will see how many more storms the compost socks can experience before the building sediment behind each sock needs to be removed in order for the socks to be effective.

Our final installation of rock is scheduled any day now for Ski Valley Road in Waitsfield, and installation of check dams and turnouts will occur by late September on Crossett Hill, Richardson and Grout roads in Duxbury. Check back by early October for a report on effectiveness of our treatments installed to date.