We were contacted by CL Warren to review their Runcorn site, write a report, and suggest materials. They needed assistance with silt management and contamination. There had been previous attempts to manage the silt build-up, but they asked for our advice and a site visit.
We assessed the site and found that a black Woven Geotextile had been installed on the banks of the stream in an attempt to prevent soil migration and the formation of silt, yet this had only aggravated the situation.
We visited the site twice and on the second occasion we saw that there were extensive exposed areas with no vegetation at all and that the watercourse had risen dramatically as a result of heavy rain. It was clear the geotextile was not working effectively as it was acting as a slip plane and was enabling the migration of silt into the stream and contributing to the erosion of the embankment. The stream below was extremely cloudy. This put them at risk of blockages in the watercourse, flooding, and fines for water pollution.
We recommended using Silt Fencing, Sediment Control Mats, and other ancillary products. We also provided them with advice and information on how to implement these. We suggested they should re-establish a vegetation strip on the embankments as this acts as a natural barrier to prevent silt from reaching the stream. CL Warren then set up the silt fencing other materials to tackle these problems.
The silt fencing was employed to make sure the silt did not migrate and pollute the stream. They also set up the sediment control mats to catch the sediment, let the clear water filter through and separate the silt to reduce contamination.
We were able to help them reduce the build-up of silt on their site and therefore reduce the level of pollution in the watercourse. This also meant that the possibility of future ecological problems was reduced, as was the potential for any fines related to water pollution.
