Soil Loss Risk Analysis for Construction Activities

Abstract

Construction-related ground-disturbing activities leave exposed land susceptible to soil loss and increase the risk of polluting adjacent waterbodies with sediment-laden discharge. State and federal regulations require stormwater pollution prevention plans to be implemented during construction to mitigate the impact of stormwater runoff. Areas prone to soil loss can be identified early in site planning using soil loss modeling. Identification of these critical areas could influence the design and placement of erosion and sediment control practices. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) can be applied to estimate the soil loss on construction sites in tonnes per Ha per year (tons/acre/year) by considering factors of rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, length of slope, erosion control, and sediment control. This study integrates geographic information system (GIS) with RUSLE to create soil loss models for residential, commercial, and highway construction scenarios in the contiguous U.S.A. These three construction types were modeled in various locations throughout the country to assess erosive risk. Soil loss outputs were categorized into five risk tiers ranging from very low to very high. Southeastern states had the highest estimated soil loss during residential, commercial, and highway construction, reaching rates of 1,464, 706, and 1,302 tonnes per Ha per year (653, 315, and 581 tons/acre/year), respectively. This study provides a customizable model for any site-specific slope-length factor outside of the three construction scenarios modeled. Integration of GIS provides a unique opportunity to apply RUSLE across a larger landscape. The presented macro-scale data can be used for the design of erosion and sediment control practices.

Keywords

infrastructure roadway design hydrology and hydraulics and stormwater stormwater management

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

U.S. Congress. Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., U.S. Congress, 2002, p. 234.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Construction General Permit (CGP). Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 2017.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Developing Your Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan: A Guide for Construction Sites. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 2007.

Perez

M. A.

Zech

W. C.

Donald

W. N.

Fang

Design Methodology for the Selection of Temporary Erosion and Sediment Control Practices Based on Regional Hydrological Conditions. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, Vol. 21, No. 4, 2016, P. 05016001. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)he.1943-5584.0001328.

Whitman

J. B.

Zech

W. C.

Donald

W. N.

LaMondia

J. J.

Full-Scale Performance Evaluations of Various Wire-Backed Nonwoven Silt Fence Installation Configurations. Transportation Research Record: Journal of Transportation Research Board, 2018. 2672: 68–78.

Schussler

J. C.

Kazaz

Perez

M. A.

Blake Whitman

Cetin

Field Evaluation of Wattle and Silt Fence Ditch Checks. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2021. 2675: 281–293.

Lim

K. J.

Sagong

Engel

B. A.

Tang

Choi

Kim

K. S.

GIS-Based Sediment Assessment Tool. Catena, Vol. 64, 2005, pp. 61–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2005.06.013.

Ganasri

B. P.

Ramesh

Assessment of Soil Erosion by RUSLE Model Using Remote Sensing and GIS – A Case Study of Nethravathi Basin. Geoscience Frontiers, Vol. 7, No. 6, 2016, pp. 953–961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2015.10.007.

Renard

K. G.

Yoder

D. C.

Lightle

D. T.

Dabney

S. M.

Universal Soil Loss Equation and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation. In Handbook of Erosion Modelling ( Morgan

R. P. C.

Nearing

M. A.

, eds.), Blackwell Publishing, Hoboken, NJ, 2011, pp. 135–167.

10.

Parveen

Kumar

Integrated Approach of Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Geographical Information System (GIS) for Soil Loss Risk Assessment in Upper South Koel Basin, Jharkhand. Journal of Geographic Information Systems, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2012. https://doi.org/10.4236/jgis.2012.46061.

11.

Dissmeyer

G. E.

Foster

G. R.

A Guide for Predicting Sheet and Rill Erosion on Forest Land. Technical Publication SA-TP 11. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Atlanta, GA, 1981.

12.

Trenouth

W. R.

Gharabaghi

Event-Based Soil Loss Models for Construction Sites. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 524, 2015, pp. 780–788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.03.010.

13.

Wischmeier

W. H.

Smith

D. D.

Predicting Rainfall Erosion Losses—A Guide to Conservation Planning. Agriculture Handbook No. 537. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, 1978.

14.

Renard

K. G.

Foster

G. R.

Weesies

G. A.

McCool

D. K.

Yoder

D. C.

Predicting Soil Erosion by Water: A Guide to Conservation Planning with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 1997.

15.

Williams

J. R.

Sediment Routing for Agricultural Watersheds. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 11, No. 5, 1975, pp. 965–974. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1975.tb01817.x.

16.

Alewell

Borrelli

Meusburger

Panagos

Using the USLE: Chances, Challenges, and Limitations of Soil Erosion Modelling. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2019, pp. 203–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2019.05.004.

17.

Risse

L. M.

Nearing

M. A.

Nicks

A. D.

Laflen

J. M.

Error Assessment in the Universal Soil Loss Equation. Soil Science Society of America, Vol. 57, 1993. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1993.03615995005700030032x.

18.

Millward

A. A.

Mersey

J. E.

Adapting the RUSLE to Model Soil Erosion Potential in a Mountainous Tropical Watershed. Catena, Vol. 38, No. 2, 1999, pp. 109–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0341-8162(99)00067-3.

19.

Maguire

D. J.

An Overview and Definition of GIS. Geographical Information Systems: Principles, Techniques, Management and Applications ( Longley

P. A.

Goodchild

M. F.

Maguire

D. J.

Rhind

D. W.

eds.), John Wiley and Sons, Newyork, NY, 1991, pp. 9–20. http://www.wiley.com/legacy/wileychi/gis/volumes.html.

20.

Valladares

G. S.

Batistella

Mapping Soil Erosion Risk in Rondônia, Brazilian Amazonia: Using RUSLE, Remote Sensing and GIS. Land Degradation and Development, Vol. 15, No. 5, 2004, pp. 499–512. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.634.

21.

Ashiagbor

Forkuo

E. K.

Laari

Aabeyir

Modeling Soil Erosion Using RUSLE and GIS Tools. International Journal of Remote Sensing & Geoscience (IJRSG), Vol. 2, 2012, pp. 7–17.

22.

Rodrigues

Bacani

V. M.

Panachuki

Modeling Soil Erosion Using RUSLE and GIS in a Watershed Occupied by Rural Settlement in the Brazilian Cerrado. Natural Hazards, Vol. 85, No. 2, 2017, pp. 851–868. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2607-3.

23.

Zerihun

Mohammedyasin

M. S.

Sewnet

Adem

A. A.

Lakew

Assessment of Soil Erosion Using RUSLE, GIS, and Remote Sensing in NW Ethiopia. Geoderma Regional, Vol. 12, 2018, pp. 83–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geodrs.2018.01.002.

24.

Lanorte

Cillis

Calamita

Nolè

Pilogallo

Tucci

De Santis

Integrated Approach of RUSLE, GIS, and ESA Sentinel-2 Satellite Data for Post-Fire Soil Erosion Assessment in Basilicata Region (Southern Italy). Geomatics, Natural Hazards, and Risk, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2019, pp. 1563–1595. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2019.1578271.

25.

State Water Resources Control Board. Construction General Permit. Division of Water Quality, Sacramento, CA, 2009.

26.

Toy

T. J.

Foster

G. R.

Renard

K. G.

RUSLE for Mining, Construction, and Reclamation Lands. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Vol. 54, 1999, pp. 462–467.

27.

Yoon

K. S.

Kim

C.W.

Woo

Application of RUSLE for Erosion Estimation of Construction Sites in Coastal Catchments. Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 56, 2009, pp. 1696–1700.

28.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Stormwater Phase II Final Rule: Construction of Rainfall Erosivity Waiver. No. EPA 833-F-00-014. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 2012, p. 12.

29.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. SSURGO Data Packaging and Use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., November, 2012.

30.

Renard

K. G.

Foster

G. R.

Weesies

G. A.

Porter

J. P.

RUSLE: Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation. Journal of Soil & Water Conservation, Vol. 46, No. 1, 1991, pp. 30–33.

31.

Perez

M. A.

Zech

W. C.

Donald

W. N.

Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Conduct Site Inspections of Erosion and Sediment Control Practices and Track Project Progression. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2015. 2528, pp. 38–48.

32.

Kazaz

Poddar

Arabi

Perez

M. A.

Sharma

Blake Whitman

Deep Learning-Based Object Detection for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs)-Based Inspections of Construction Stormwater Practices. Sensors, Vol. 21, No. 8, 2021, p. 2834. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21082834.

33.

Fifield

J. S.

Designing and Reviewing Effective Sediment and Erosion Control Plans. Forester Press, Santa Barbara, CA, 2011.

34.

Haregeweyn

Tsunekawa

Poesen

Tsubo

Meshesha

D. T.

Fenta

A. A.

Nyssen

Adgo

Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Erosion Risk for Better Land Use Planning in River Basins: Case Study of the Upper Blue Nile River. Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 574, 2017, pp. 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.09.019.