Construction crews at Ridgefield Supply displayed some strong improvisation skills this summer when they successfully completed an emergency stream repair using a combination of “coir coco logs,” large boulders, hay bales and silt fencing.
“The contractor was removing invasive plants along the stream banks, which was one of our requirements when we approved the application, when it was discovered that the stream was deeply eroded,” explained Town Planner Betty Brosius to the Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday night. “The erosion had been hidden by all the vegetation and the invasives were actually holding up the bank — the removal made the conditions worse.”
The eroded areas extended onto the property to the west of the business, but site contractor Stefano Zandri was quick to address the unexpected concern working with the town’s Zoning Enforcement Officer Richard Baldelli and Beth Peyser.
Mr. Zandri opted to use the coco logs, which are a reliable erosion control product designed to assist in the stabilization and revegetation of hillsides, banks, shorelines and other areas prone to erosion.
The method has been long used by the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for riparian stream and river stabilization, according to Ms. Brosius.
“The installation and remediation was accomplished quickly, and the bank has been hand-planted so that vegetation will grow between the boulders and over the coco logs,” Ms. Brosius said in a memo to the commission. “The resulting stream stabilization will provide long-term protection of the watercourse, and protect downstream properties from receiving silty water.”
She believes that coco logs have been used for erosion control for some places in town — Boehringeher Ingelheim, for one.
“I think this is the first time we have used the method for major stream repair,” she said.
Ms. Brosius added that no properties were affected by the stream repair.
“Ridgefield Supply immediately gained permission from the neighboring property owner to the west to get the work done,” she said.