Hay bales are for horses – not for erosion control

Haybales make terrible erosion control structures.	LEED requires effective erosion and sedimentation controls. These controls must be planned, installed, and documented on every LEED project. Lile Engineering helps clients and contractors install effective erosion controls and meet LEED requirements.A common myth is that haybales make good erosion control structures. This is a fallacy. Here is a photo of a haybale silt fence that has been undercut by erosion, completely compromising its ability to slow water and filter out silt.
	Haybales are bad for several reasons:
	Haybales float. How is something floating on top of a flood going to stop it? Haybales are rigid, sitting on top of the ground. Silt fences flex and extend underground, to slow floodwaters and cause them to dump silt loads. Even staking does not keep haybales in place. The forces on a haybale are immense during a flood, causing them to dislodge.
	Silt fences, properly installed and buried are a much better solution than haybales. Feed hay to horses. Until next time, Stay Energized! -Lawrence