Silt screens

Ecocoast silt screens are mainly used in hydraulic engineering works where sand, sludge and sediments need to be kept separate. Dredging works, deepening basins, sluices and drainage, raising the sea or river bed or backfilling operations often come with a lot of earth movement which means they cause mud, sludge or contamination or sludge (silt), which may or may not be polluted.

By putting in place the Ecocoast silt screens in the shape of large water-permeable, albeit not silt-permeable booms, the operating area remains separate from the other areas to be preserved. The silt screens consist of a floating barrier that stops foam, sludge or other floating contaminations above water. In addition to stopping the floating mass on the surface, below the waterline a water-permeable boom with micro pores stops the floating material, such as fine sand and sediments. Water is allowed to pass through the screen but the sediments float up against the screen before sinking to the sea or river bed. These silt curtains or silt screens allow for operating areas to be completely segregated.

Standard, the silt screens are manufactured in 25 to 30-metre length sections, whereby both the floating part on top and the silt boom around the bottom are custom-built to suit the nature of the works and the location. In doing so, the length of the underwater boom is adapted to the bed profile of the body of water in the operating area. As a result, in the case of backfilling operations, the sediments will sink to the sea or river bed without being evacuated. In the case of dredging operations and earthworks, silt and sand will not be displaced and remain locked inside the operating area.

For complex and challenging locations, Ecocoast has digital mathematical models which factor in the water flow, the waves, the nature of the works and obviously the kinds of sludge, the sediments, the geology, etc. in order to arrive at a custom-made solution. Ecocoast draws on its longstanding experience to produce a preliminary design which is virtually tested and optimised before it gets to the installation stage. No trial & error for complex or challenging assignments, but a solution that is engineered ahead of time and is included as part of the supply of the silt screens.