Erosion and sediment control for new homeowners | Redland City Council
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Further information

Erosion and sediment control for new homeowners

Before going any further, please familiarise yourself with our helpful Erosion and Sediment Control Toolkits located on the Healthy Land Water website.

Your responsibility

Exposed earth presents the greatest erosion risk for the Redlands. The erosion of sediment from land is the largest source of pollution to our waterways.

If your builder has just 'handed over' your home with uncompleted landscaping, you must ensure that erosion and sediment control measures remain in place until there is no exposed earth/soil on your property.

Homeowners are responsible for keeping soil on their land, off the street, and out of stormwater and waterways. Even small releases of soil matter, as most of the soil in runoff is dissolved and the cumulative effect from multiple houses can be significant.

Before handover to you

When your builder hands over your home, you should confirm that they have stabilised your lot or left in place sufficient temporary measures to minimise erosion and prevent muddy water leaving your land.

Temporary measures may include controls like a sediment fence (small green fence) downstream of exposed soil, protected stormwater inlets and a stabilised rock entry pad.

After handover to you

After handover, your main goals should be to:

  • establish ground cover as quickly as possible by completing your landscaping or using temporary stabilisation methods, such as laying turf or mulch
  • finish your driveway promptly so your car does not track mud onto the street.

In the interim (prior to completed landscaping)

If your site is not protected sufficiently (yard stabilised), you may require additional controls. The controls you need will depend on the slope and nature of your land. Refer to the Healthy Land and Water toolkit for details of various controls.

The most common control used on residential sites is a sediment fence, installed downslope of exposed earth. This fence is a small, usually green woven fibre fence with wooden stakes spaced 2m apart. It should be trenched into the ground 200mm and then backfilled. When installing, return the ends of your fence up the slope so the fence acts as a small dam.

Inspect and maintain all temporary controls that you or your builder installed.

These temporary measures must remain in place until your entire yard is covered by established grass or other landscape elements (achieving permanent ground cover).

If you remove controls to complete other works, controls must be re-installed before the end of the day and any rainfall.

Why this is important

Erosion and sedimentation affects you and the whole community, including:

  • increasing the cost of landscaping
  • increasing the risk of flooding
  • increasing the costs of maintaining infrastructure
  • reducing the recreational value and opportunity of our water bodies
  • affecting the quality of our natural environment.

Possible infringements

You may be at risk of being fined if erosion and sediment control on your property is not managed appropriately. Council may issue you a fine if soil leaves your property and goes into the street gutter or other water body.