A residential construction site in North Carolina was stuck with a persistently turbid sediment basin. Weeks after rain, fine sediment stayed suspended so highly turbid water still left through the skimmer into an adjacent wetland and stream buffer. The site had already drawn regulatory heat — a Notice of Violation for sediment impacts to a wetland, compliance pressure from NC DEQ, and continued sediment-discharge concerns from EPA — and conventional site management alone was not clearing the basin after storms.
Blue Stream Environmental installed nine APS 700 Series Floc Logs® in the conveyance channels feeding the basin so runoff was treated before it entered the pond, where flocculated sediment could settle. No other stabilization, grading, or ESC changes were made. Over the next five days the site took about 0.5–3 inches of rain. This passive approach fits sediment control enhancement in existing conveyance.
Results were immediate and visible: basin water cleared, discharge turbidity dropped dramatically, and clearer water held through multiple rainfall events — still with no pumps, power, or drainage redesign. Total material cost for the passive system was under $1,500. Floc Logs in an existing conveyance can treat large volumes of stormwater before replacement.
“I am beyond impressed with how well they worked on this site! We installed nine Floc Logs before receiving somewhere between ½ and 3 inches of rain over five days, and yet it is absolutely clear—both in the pond and the water being discharged.” — Lindsey Lengyel, Water Resources Director, Blue Stream Environmental
Project: Passive stormwater treatment of a sediment basin
Partner: Blue Stream Environmental (Lindsey Lengyel, Water Resources Director)
Products: APS Floc Logs® × 9 (700 Series) in upstream conveyance
When: After install: ~0.5–3 inches rain over five days
Cost: Materials < $1,500
NC Sediment Basin project gallery
