Today's environmental protection policies require companies and individuals
to take all reasonable precautions to prevent sediment contamination
of waterways.
These precautions may include stategies to mitigate soil erosion
at source by reducing the natural process of detachment and transport
of soil particles by water or by containment of dislodged particles.
The latter is the most widely used solution today, and can be seen
on most building sites in the form of the now familiar silt fence.
However, where construction is taking place immediately adjacent
to a waterway, such as a canal development or construction of a bridge,
wharf or jetty, these measures may be impractical. In this case a
floating silt curtain may be used to confine sediment and prevent
dispersal and contamination of the water body.