This paper describes a study designed to determine average labor and machine times required to implement erosion control and revegetation best management practices (BMPs) for skid trails in Kentucky. Labor and machine activities were recorded for 14,400 feet of skid trail on 10 nonindustrial private logging sites. Water bar construction and reshaping activities such as filling ruts and berm removal were filmed continuously with a video camera and then analyzed using time-motion study techniques. Labor activities for revegetation such as seeding and application of fertilizer were also timed. The average total machine time for retirement activities per 1000 feet was 51 minutes for sites using dozers and 52 minutes for sites using skidders. The average water bar construction time using a bulldozer was 1.5 minutes (n=112) while the average construction time using a skidder was 3.5 minutes (n = 21). The average amount of labor time required to seed 1000 feet of skid trail was 23 minutes (n = 5). Three methods of water bar construction were observed and analyzed to identify differences among them. While there were significant differences among the three methods, the data suggest that skid trail percent slope may have the greatest effect on water bar construction times.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2005. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-55). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-141).

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2006. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-99). Also available online.

Thesis (M.E.)--University of Canterbury, 2001. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-144). Also available via the World Wide Web.

"Professional paper presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Environmental Studies, the University of Montana, Missoula, MT, spring 2007." / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Aug. 12, 2007). Includes bibliographic references (p. 67-69).

A study was conducted in two sites: one at an electricity storage facility belonging to the Swaziland Electricity Board (SEB) and the other at a facility that belongs to its treated pole supplier, the Thonkwane wood creosote treatment plant. The drainage system of these sites leads to surface waters in rivers. This is a cause of concern since creosote contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are listed as priority pollutants by the US Environmental Protection Agency. They have toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects and as a result they pose a threat to human life and the environment. No previous studies have been done on PAHs in Swaziland. The main objective of this study was to determine the impact of the SEB storage facility and the creosote treatment plant by investigating the extent of PAHs in surrounding environments (soil, sediments and surface waters). Preliminary studies were undertaken on the storage facility and the creosote treatment plant. No PAHs were detected from the pole storage facility; therefore the creosote wood treatment facility was selected as the ideal site at which to conduct the research. Soil samples were collected from depths 15 cm and 60 cm at points around the creosote plant, including effluent discharge points. The samples were extracted by solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) and analysed by GC/MS. The GC/MS, incorporating a solid phase micro extraction step, provided detection limits ranging from 0.12 μg/g to 20.08 μg/g. The pollution patterns in the study site were assessed using cluster analysis and principal component analysis. Most of the 16 US EPA-listed priority pollutants were detected from the creosote wood treatment facility. PAHs such as anthracene, fluorene, naphthalene and fluoranthene were dominant in all the sampling sites. The compounds occurred in very high concentrations (0.64, 0.46, 0.27 and 0.26 mg/kg respectively). These compounds are found in pure creosote as determined in the sample taken from the Thonkwane creosote tank site. The highest concentration of PAHs was observed in the soil samples taken next to the road site. The concentrations of the identified PAHs were above the acceptable minimal level allowed in soil by the US EPA and Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA). The levels of the PAHs are also above the recommended US EPA limit in soil, which is 0.1 mg/kg. The results indicated that significant soil pollution was taking place in some of the sampling sites. The top layer (0, 15 cm) contained many PAHs at high levels whilst the 60 cm layer had a lower number of PAHs which were also in low concentrations. This provided an indication that there is no downward movement of PAHs from the surface layer to underground layers. The potential exists for contamination of surface waters when there is runoff from the project area. This is a cause of concern, since both the creosote treatment plant and areas outside the facility are contaminated. Therefore, the site has to be cleaned up, preferably by using a phytoremediation technique. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

Increasing energy demand, coupled with the recent emphasis on domestic production, has resulted in an increase in natural gas exploration and pipeline construction in the central Appalachian region. Very little is known about the effects of natural gas pipeline construction on sediment production. The goals of this project were to measure erosion and examine the effects of vegetation and precipitation characteristics on erosion on a newly constructed pipeline in the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia. The study explored whether seed rate, slope class, or aspect, influenced erosion. The cross country pipeline was buried beneath the surface on study hillslopes ranging from 30-68% and beneath a less steep segment with slopes ranging from 18-26%. A mixture of native herbaceous-plant seeds and straw mulch were applied following construction. Two different seeding rates were applied to compare vegetative recovery and to determine if increasing the seed rate would decrease erosion. A 1-time seed rate, or the normal Forest Service application rate, and a 3-time seed rate (1-time + twice that rate) were tested. Two aspects (northwest-facing and southeast-facing) and four precipitation variables (30-minute maximum intensity, duration, total rainfall amount, and time since last event) were defined. Sediment concentrations were compared for differences between two slopes, two seed rates, and two aspect classes. Precipitation variables were analyzed to identify those that could explain significant amounts of the variability in erosion from the pipeline. The 1-time seed rate sections produced less sediment than the 3-time seed rate sections, but this was probably more a function of subsurface flow differences associated with the sections seeded with the lighter rate and the water bar construction. Precipitation intensity explained the most variability in erosion. Study sites with gentler slopes produced less sediment than the steeper sections, as expected. As vegetation became established, sediment concentrations decreased for all study sections and reached low and relatively constant levels by approximately the end of August 2009.

Riparian buffers in agricultural landscapes are designed to trap pollutants in overland flow by slowing, filtering, and infiltrating surface runoff entering the buffer via sheet flow. However, observational evidence suggests that concentrated flow is prevalent from agricultural fields. Also, over time sediment can accumulate in riparian buffers forming berms that restrict sheet flow from moving into the buffers; these berms ultimately back up surface runoff, resulting in an eventual breakthrough which concentrates runoff. Breakthrough by concentrated flow can lead to gully formation that may reduce the filtering capacities of buffer systems by providing direct conduits to stream channels. This study explores the frequency of concentrated flow paths in riparian buffers at both the field and watershed scale. At the field scale, intensive topographic surveys were conducted at 10 field sites in southern Illinois to characterize concentrated flow paths, accumulated berm sediments, and field area drained by concentrated flow. Detailed digital elevation models (DEMs) were created for each site and riparian buffer and agriculture field characteristics were analyzed to assess the development and occurrence of concentrated flow paths. At each site, soil samples were analyzed to characterize sediment deposition patterns within the buffer. To assess the prevalence of concentrated flow paths at the watershed scale, three watersheds in southern Illinois were selected for walking stream surveys. Five stream segments, approximately 1000 m long, were randomly selected within each watershed and surveyed for the occurrence and size of concentrated flow paths. These data were analyzed with respect to riparian buffer vegetation, buffer width, and surrounding land cover data. Concentrated flow paths were identified in all topographic surveys and all walking stream surveys indicating a common occurrence in agricultural watersheds of southern Illinois. Among field scale sites, concentrated flow accounted for 82.5-100% of the drainage areas contributing to riparian buffers. Results from the watershed scale analysis suggest that concentrated flow paths are significantly more abundant in agricultural land cover, than forested land. Current riparian buffer design principles are based on the assumption that sheet flow is the primary form of surface runoff entering buffers. Furthermore, buffers are installed and not maintained which can lead to berm accumulation and buffer failure. Results from this study indicate that concentrated flow was the prevalent form of runoff at field scale sites. Managers need to consider the occurrence of concentrated flow paths when designing riparian buffers to protect stream water quality.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:00:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4369.pdf: 12366504 bytes, checksum: d0746d888c77116c1453db230bd4d8b3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-03 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The infiltration well as a Best Management Practices (BMPs) stands out because it requires small areas for its implementation an it´s fully applicable to urban lots. This paper presents an experimental study of an infiltration well built in real scale at Universidade Federal de São Carlos SP with the objective of evaluation its performance as a BMP in the control of stormwater runoff and the removal of suspension materials. The soil was characterized as sand loam, and infiltration capacity between 93,98 and 19,24 mm per hour, these values were obtained thought field tests by the inverted well method and the double ring infiltrometer method respectively. The Rain Envelope Method was used for sizing, and the well was intentionally sized at odds with the standards of safety project. With the electronic equipment s and the precipitation measures were monitored 22 real rain events and simulated rain events, during 11 months of the well operation. During this period there was no record of extravasation of the well, representing an efficiency of 100% in reducing the runoff. After eight months of the well operation tests were conducted about the permeability of the geotextile, and the amount of powder material in the aggregate materials content in the well, in other words, the gravel and sand making up the filter cover, and also the qualitative parameters: apparent color and turbidity. The geotextile showed permeability reductions of 50,7%, 7,7% and 21,2% in the samples from the background, the wall sides, and the cover of the well respectively. The well sand filter cover retained 34,8% of fines, while the gravel retained 0,13% for the same period. About the well efficiency analyses in the removing the parameters apparent color and turbidity, it was showed that it wasn t characterized as a treatment unit of these parameters, this fact is due to the quality of water which represents the roof inlet structure. For modeling the Puls method, the saturated soil permeability defined as K non optimized was calculated for each monitored event (Kno). Kno was adjusted by non-linear regression (K optimized - Ko) for each monitored event, restricting the parameters based on values obtained in the field tests, thus for each monitored rain event was obtained two moldings for the constant values of K (Kno and Ko). The model representativeness was evaluated by the coefficients of determination ranging from 0,68 to 0,98 for the events modeled with values from Ko and 0,02 to 0,76 for the Kno, being the Ko most representative for the modeling of Puls. / O poço de infiltração como técnica compensatória de drenagem, se destaca por necessitar de pequenas áreas para sua implantação e ser totalmente aplicável a lotes urbanos. Este trabalho apresenta um estudo experimental de um poço de infiltração construído em escala real no Campus da Universidade Federal de São Carlos SP com o objetivo de avaliar seu desempenho como estrutura compensatória de drenagem urbana no controle do escoamento superficial e na remoção de material em suspensão. O solo foi caracterizado como Areia Média Argilosa SC, com capacidade de infiltração entre 93,38 mm/h e 19,24 mm/h, valores obtidos em ensaios de campo pelos métodos de poço invertido e de duplo anel respectivamente. No dimensionamento utilizou-se o método da Curva Envelope e intencionalmente não seguiram-se as recomendações de segurança para projeto. Com auxílio de equipamentos eletrônicos e das medidas de precipitação, foram monitorados 22 eventos de chuvas reais e chuvas simuladas, durante 11 meses de funcionamento do poço. Neste período não houve registro de extravasamento do poço, representando uma eficiência de 100% na redução do volume escoado. Após oito meses de seu funcionamento foram realizados ensaios da permeabilidade do geotêxtil, do teor de materiais pulverulentos dos agregados ao poço, ou seja, a brita e a areia que compõem o filtro da tampa, e dos parâmetros qualitativos: cor aparente e turbidez. O geotêxtil apresentou redução média da permeabilidade de 50,7%, 7,7% e 21,2% nas amostras do fundo, paredes e tampa do poço respectivamente. A areia do filtro da tampa reteve 34,8% de finos, enquanto a brita reteve 0,13% de finos no mesmo período. Com relação á remoção da cor aparente e da turbidez constou-se que o poço não caracteriza-se como uma unidade de tratamento destes parâmetros, tal fato deve-se à qualidade da água do telhado que representa a entrada de água na estrutura. Para a modelagem pelo método de Puls a permeabilidade do solo saturado definida como K não otimizado (Kno) foi calculada para cada evento monitorado. O Kno foi ajustado através de regressão não-linear (K otimizado - Ko), restringindo os parâmetros com base nos valores obtidos nos ensaios de campo, dessa forma para cada evento monitorado obteve-se duas modelagens para os valores de K constantes (Kno e Ko). A representatividade do modelo foi avaliada por meio dos coeficientes de explicação que variaram de 0,68 a 0,98 para os eventos modelados com os valores de Ko, e de 0,02 a 0,76 para o Kno, sendo o Ko mais representativo para a modelagem de Puls.