Erosion Control & Hydroseeding
in Houston, TX

What is erosion control on a construction site?

Erosion control keeps bare soil in place with cover like hydromulch, sod and blankets. Sediment control catches soil that still moves, using silt fence, sediment logs, traps and inlet protection. A construction site needs both. The state permit calls for silt fence or an equal control on every down-slope edge of the work. The written plan that ties the controls together is the SWPPP, a separate service we also offer.

How much does erosion control cost?

There is no flat price. A few things drive the number.

• Linear feet of fence, and whether it is standard or reinforced.
• The count of rock entrances and protected inlets.
• Basins and traps, and how much ground gets hydromulch.
• How often storms send the crew back to clean and repair.

How do you keep mud off the street?

Every gate gets a stabilized construction entrance: open rock on filter fabric. On City work that entrance runs at least 50 feet long, 8 inches deep, and 20 feet wide for two-way trucks. Tires clean off on the rock, and wash water drains to a protected inlet. We shovel or sweep the street daily and keep mud out of the gutter. Longer haul routes inside the site get built as temporary access roads.

Do small sites in Houston need erosion control, and what happens at an inspection?

Yes. The City of Houston requires controls on every construction site, any size, even one without a SWPPP. City code bans anything but storm water from entering the storm sewer. City inspectors can show up on any site. The first visit brings a notice of violation, and citations follow if the problem is not fixed. In unincorporated Harris County, flagged problems must be corrected within 72 hours. Permit thresholds and filings sit on our SWPPP services page.

What is final stabilization, and when can the silt fence come out?

The state counts a site as finally stabilized when perennial grass covers at least 70 percent of the native background, evenly, with no big bare spots. Riprap or gabions can stand in where grass will not grow. Ground left idle for more than 14 days needs cover started by the next work day. Houston's hydromulch mix is Bermuda seed, with rye added for fall seeding. The City spec keeps the grass up for 90 days and re-sprays when thin spots pass 20 percent of the area. Once the site is finally stabilized, the fence and rock come out.

When does a site need a sediment basin, and how do you protect a bayou outfall?

A site with 10 or more disturbed acres draining to one point needs a sediment basin where it fits. The permit sizes it to hold runoff from a 2-year, 24-hour storm. Where that cannot be calculated, the floor is 3,600 cubic feet per acre drained. Smaller drainage areas can use sediment traps instead. Basins get cleaned before they are half full, and City basins even sooner, at one-third. Where site water leaves through a pipe or ditch, the outfall gets energy breakers so it does not scour the bank. Natural buffers stay along bayous where possible. The pipe side of that work is on our storm sewer page.