Silt Fence & Sediment Barriers in Sarasota, FL

Silt fence and sediment barriers are the first thing that goes in on most Sarasota construction jobs and the last thing to come out. We are silt fence contractors for builders, pool and addition contractors, and homeowners doing their own projects, and we handle the perimeter fence, inlet protection and tracking control that county inspectors look for. On sites near water, sediment control is not optional, and the rules are specific about when it goes in.

What Sarasota County requires

Sarasota County's development code requires all new construction within 20 feet of a wetland, other surface water, county drainage canal, ditch or swale to put up a siltation barrier at the property line to keep silt out of the waterway. The barrier has to go up before clearing, be maintained during construction, and stay until final inspections are approved. The code also requires erosion and sediment control measures, including perimeter controls and soil tracking prevention, for all new construction to protect adjoining parcels, again installed before clearing and kept until final inspection.

In a county where retention ponds, canals and roadside swales are everywhere, the 20-foot trigger catches many lots. For larger projects, the county's site development plan requirements call for an erosion and sediment control plan showing perimeter controls, stabilized entrances, inlet protection, outlet stabilization and protection of stormwater conveyances.

Building a silt fence that holds on sand

Silt fence is geotextile fabric on stakes, set across the path of runoff so water slows and drops its sediment before leaving the site. On Sarasota's loose sand the failure point is almost always the bottom edge. If the fabric is not trenched in and backfilled, water simply runs under it. Our silt fence installation follows a few basics:

• The bottom of the fabric is buried in a trench and the trench is backfilled and compacted.
• Stakes go on the downhill side so the fabric is pressed against them by the water.
• The fence follows the contour and the ends turn uphill so water cannot slip around them.
• Fence is not used to block concentrated flow in a ditch or swale, where it will blow out. Those spots get check structures or inlet protection instead.

Inlet protection

Storm drains on or next to a site carry anything that reaches them straight to the nearest pond, creek or bay. Inlet protection filters water before it gets in. Depending on the inlet, that might be a fabric barrier around a yard drain, sandbags or a gravel-and-mesh filter at a curb inlet, or an insert below the grate. We install inlet protection on the inlets the plan calls for and on any others downhill of bare ground.

Keeping it working

Sediment barriers only work while they are maintained. After big storms, sediment builds up against the fence and fabric gets torn or knocked down by equipment. From June through September, when the airport averages more than 6 inches of rain every month, that can happen weekly. We offer inspection and maintenance visits: cleaning out sediment, re-trenching undercut sections and replacing damaged fabric, so the fence passes inspection on the day it counts.

When it comes out

The barrier stays until final inspection approval and until the ground behind it is stabilized. Once the lawn or bank cover has rooted, the fence comes down, we smooth the slot where it was buried and spray seed over that strip too, so no line of bare sand is left behind. Get a free estimate