Woven or nonwoven geotextile is fixed to wood or steel posts with its bottom edge buried in a trench, so runoff ponds behind it and drops its sediment. It is meant for sheet flow from small areas, not concentrated flow in ditches. The usual failures are fabric not trenched in, water running around the ends and sediment left piled against the fence.
Inspector failed the silt fence on the north side, the toe isn't trenched in and it's already undercut.
Turn the ends of a silt fence run uphill in a J-hook so water cannot simply walk around it.
Also heard as
- sediment fence
- filter fence
Related terms
Geotextile
Permeable fabric used with soil to separate, filter, drain, reinforce or protect, made woven, nonwoven or knitted.
Filtration
Letting water pass across a geotextile while holding back the soil particles it carries.
Anchor trench
Trench along the top of a slope where the edge of a geosynthetic is buried to hold it in place.