Hold On to Your Dirt
Erosion problems create new
laws — and new solutions
by Kathy Price-Robinson
On a construction site, dirt is usually the last
thing anyone thinks about. Of course, you
need soil stable enough to hold up the building,
but beyond that, who cares?
The answer is: Lots of people — and plants and animals
— especially during the rainy season. Every year,
rain sweeps millions of cubic yards of topsoil off construction
sites, creating flooding problems, sending mud
or silt onto down-gradient properties, and contributing
to the sedimentation and silting of streams, bays, estuaries,
reservoirs, and other water bodies. This excess soil
can cause numerous environmental problems, such as
disrupting fish spawning