Silt Fence & Perimeter Sediment Control in Atlanta, GA

Silt fence and perimeter sediment control in Atlanta is the first line of erosion work on almost every construction site and on plenty of home projects. The fence itself is a woven geotextile, its bottom edge buried in a narrow trench and its face held upright by stakes along the low edges of a disturbed area. Water ponds behind it and drops its sediment before seeping through. We are silt fence contractors for builders, site contractors and homeowners doing additions, pools, grading or drainage work, and we install inlet protection, maintain fences through the job and remove them when the ground is covered with grass.

Why sediment control matters so much here

Red Piedmont clay turns runoff orange, and it does not take much. Atlanta averages about 50 inches of rain a year with every month over 3 inches, so a disturbed lot sees regular storms whatever the season. Georgia's Erosion and Sedimentation Act requires that, to the extent necessary, sediment in runoff be trapped by sediment basins, silt traps or similar measures until the disturbed area is stabilized. Plans must include facilities to retain sediment on site. A discharge from a site where best management practices were not properly designed, installed and maintained is a violation for each day it pushes the turbidity of receiving waters more than 25 NTU above normal in warm water streams, or 10 NTU in trout waters.

Installation that works

Most silt fence that fails was installed wrong. The bottom of the fabric needs to sit down in a trench on the uphill side, not just pinned at the surface, or water runs underneath. Stakes go on the downhill side. The fence should follow the contour, not run straight down a slope where it acts as a channel, and the ends should turn uphill so water does not wrap around them. In high-flow spots or where the fence holds a lot of sediment, a wire-backed or stabilized fence lasts longer. Silt fence is meant to handle spread-out sheet flow, not a concentrated stream, so in ditches and swales we use other measures.

Inlet protection

Storm drain inlets carry runoff straight to creeks, and the City of Atlanta's watershed department points out that stormwater runoff picks up sediment along with litter, oil and fertilizer as it crosses the ground. Inlet protection catches that sediment at the drain. Depending on the inlet and traffic, we use silt fence barriers around yard and area inlets, gravel and mesh, sandbags or devices set below the grate in curb inlets. Every type needs cleaning after storms to keep working.

Stream and lake buffers

Georgia law sets a 25 foot buffer along the banks of state waters, measured from where vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow, and a 50 foot buffer along trout streams. No land disturbance is allowed inside a buffer, and it stays in natural vegetation until all land-disturbing activity on the site is finished. Many lots in the metro back up to creeks, ponds or lakes, and a properly placed silt fence line marks and protects that edge as well as trapping sediment.

Maintenance and removal

A silt fence is only as good as its last inspection. Sediment piled halfway up the fabric, sagging sections, torn spots and undercut ends all need fixing, especially after heavy rain. We can maintain fences through a project and pull them once permanent vegetation has covered the area. Removing a fence early is one of the most common ways a site ends up with mud in the street.

Common silt fence jobs

• Perimeter fence on new house lots and additions
• Fence along creek and lake buffers
• Inlet protection on curb and yard inlets
• Repairs after storms and before inspections
• Removal and seeding of the fence line at project end