Construction Site Erosion & Sediment Control Challenges | Money Saved is Money Earned

Kwok Wing Leong, PE(Calif), M.ASCE, CISEC, NGICP

Money Saved is Money Earned is very applicable today on Erosion & Sediment Control Practices, in keeping soil from leaving development sites. Wealth Savings shall be from stopping: the loss of topsoil, the pollution of waterways, the contamination of the environment and possibly the loss of valuable new found wealth, “Ion Adsorption Clay Rare Earth Elements Deposits”.

Because of the nature of Malaysian soils (ie clay), high rainfall (2500+mm/yr) and lack of construction practices (commitment); eroded rills & gullies are common sights with flash floods as a result of sediment flows. Solutions to address these challenges are complex starting from the early stage of site planning to the design for the various phases namely pre-grading, during grading, during construction and post construction.

A comprehensive approach should incorporate correct selection of treatment BMPs driven by effectiveness for given site conditions and available budget. Examples of Construction Site Erosion & Sediment Control Challenges reviewed and solutions shared. The Goal of this session is to provide attending participants relevant, responsive and immediately applicable solutions followed by live Q & A session.

Presented by Kwok Wing Leong, PE(Calif), M.ASCE, CISEC, NGICP

Work experiences include civil engineering design, development & construction supervision, of highway, geosystems on “soft-soil” load support techniques, flexible & sustainable drainage channels “landfill-caps”, water & sewerage systems, park systems & trails, storm water management, river geomorphology, re-directive river training methodology & techniques where rivers “heals-its-own-eroded embankments”, “green” & sustainable river channel protection(following MSMA principles, NFC-UK..)...
Whilst in Malaysia, established manufacturing facility to reuse palm oil and coconut waste for sustainable slope erosion protection and vegetated riverbank structures, a “green” alternative to hardcore civil works, projects under JPS MSMA program “lead-by-example”. Engineer Leong is working on natural streambank protection using “Thalweg” Management techniques that provide a viable alternative to traditional civil engineering and meeting the river’s geomorphologic needs.
Speaker, trainer (CPESC-past, CESSWI-past), MSMA2(past), CISEC & LDP2M2 and “part-time” researcher with special focus on Best Management Practices BMPs for erosion, sediment control and water quality improvement especially from development and construction sites. Research and development of Effective Sediment Containment Systems for Construction Sites at Reduced Site Foot-print for maximum savings of cost to the environment and owner. Applications include PE-BMPs of anionic polymers for Passive and Active Systems (PTS & ATS) with various “hybrids” to custom site requirements.