CALTRANS EROSION CONTROL PILOT STUDY: DESIGN AND OPERATION OF THE SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY SOIL EROSION RESEARCH LABORATORY

The objective of the Erosion Control Pilot Study was the evaluation of alternative soil stabilization methods designed to minimize the erosion and transport of sediment from Caltrans rights-of-way to drain inlets. Field and laboratory programs were developed to test the candidate erosion control measures. The field program included test plots for measuring erosion rates from existing Caltrans cut and fill slopes under natural rainfall conditions and test plots for monitoring the effectiveness of sixteen different types of temporary erosion control measures on the establishment of a native California plant community. The laboratory test program included the measurement of erosion rates from simulated Caltrans slopes, the measurement of erosion rates from existing slopes with various vegetation densities and water quality analyses on runoff from simulated Caltrans slopes that were treated with sixteen different non-vegetative erosion control measures. All elements of the laboratory test program were performed with typical southern California rainfall patterns as obtained from a rainfall simulator. The laboratory testing program was performed by San Diego State University on a rainfall simulation facility with a tilting test bed constructed for this study.