Dirtwork term
Sediment Trap
also called: sed trap
Small excavated basin sized to hold sediment-laden runoff long enough for soil particles to settle out.
A sediment trap is a temporary basin, usually at a low point on a construction site, sized to capture concentrated runoff and hold it long enough for the suspended sediment to fall out. The cleaner water then overflows out through a spillway or outlet pipe.
Used where flow is too concentrated for silt fence to handle, at storm drain inlets, at the outlet of a stormed-out channel, at the toe of a long graded slope. Required as a SWPPP element on most regulated construction sites.
Maintenance is required: sediment that falls out has to be excavated and removed periodically or the trap fills up and starts passing the very sediment it was supposed to catch.
Hiring this done?
Sediment Trap comes up on erosion control jobs all over East Texas.
If you're reading up because a project is coming, we'll walk your site and show you exactly how this applies to your dirt. Free estimate, no obligation.
When you need it
When sediment trap comes up on a job
You put in a sediment trap when a disturbed site's runoff carries mud that has to settle out before the water leaves, on a job too small or too short to justify a full basin. It is a pit that catches the sediment and gets cleaned out as it fills.
Services where this shows up
We use sediment trap on
Related terms
Other words that come up alongside this one
Silt Fence
Temporary fabric fence trenched into the ground around a construction site to keep sediment-laden runoff from leaving.
SWPPP
Federal/state-required plan for keeping sediment, debris, and pollutants out of waterways during construction.
Detention Basin
Excavated basin sized to temporarily hold stormwater and release it slowly to a downstream system.
Spoils
Excavated material that's left over after cut-and-fill on a project, hauled off or stockpiled for later use.
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