What are the sources of sediment?
Sources of sediment are widespread and as varied as the land drained by the river and its tributaries, including both rural and urban areas. Typical sources of sediment that end up in the river include soil erosion sites such as croplands, highway construction, home and commercial construction sites – essentially anywhere soil is washed away by rainfall or floods. The amount of soil washed away can be sizable; for every unprotected acre under construction, about a dump truck and a half of soil washes into a nearby lake or stream. This amount increases depending on the slope. This is not to say high erosion rates are an unavoidable part of farming or construction. Many farmers use a variety of practices to reduce erosion from their fields: strip cropping, buffer strips along streams, rotational grazing and contouring. Erosion control during construction activities can be reduced or avoided by using silt curtains to “trap” sediment, storm water retention ponds, and proper grading. Other
