Speed Boats and Envirolok with Eric Seidl

The Stormwater World Podcast

Episode 003: “Envirolok is a fully engineered geo-based system. The idea is to essentially fill the bags with a mixture of sand and topsoil, and the bags can then be vegetated. They're completely engineered for a permanent solution. So it becomes a great soft armored alternative to typical hard armoring systems for shoreline slopes, as well as other waterways,” explains Eric Seidl, director of business development at Envirolok. Today, Eric joins host Ty to talk about how Envirolok works as a more permanent solution for stabilizing slopes, particularly along shorelines.

People tend to mistake green infrastructure for permanence, and that is not necessarily the case. Envirolok works better for streambank stabilization because it is a permanent system. The material is permeable and vegetative, so once the roots grow through the bags and hit the soil system just gets even stronger with time. This system is helpful not only for stormwater management but also in places where boats are causing shoreline erosion. Many lakefront and riverfront communities suffer damage from boat owners not respecting no wake zones or staying far enough from shore, and these communities can benefit from installing the Envirolok system.

Many very popular communities are cropping up around man-made lakes. The shorelines see constant damage from overzealous boat owners, and developers would be wise to consider more permanent solutions rather than defaulting to green infrastructure. Learn more about the Envirolok system and how it works to stabilize slopes with very little required maintenance.

Quotes:

• “Envirolok is a fully engineered geo-based system. The idea is to essentially fill the bags with a mixture of sand and topsoil, and the bags can then be vegetated. They're completely engineered for a permanent solution. So it becomes a great soft armored alternative to typical hard armoring systems for shoreline slopes, as well as other waterways.” (1:05-1:27 | Eric)
• “When you're cruising along at massive speeds, you're throwing waves 8 to 10 feet over the top of the shoreline. And that's where Envirolok really comes into play.” (6:31-6:42 | Eric)
• “There is no one solution for shoreline stabilization, waterways or slopes that fits every single site. And for us, it's more about collaborating with our clients, collaborating with our regulatory agencies, and making sure that what we have is the right fit.” (12:47-13:01 | Eric)
• “The biggest hurdle that we have sometimes in initial conversations is people are expecting the bag system to be really simple and biodegradable, and that's not the case.” (15:00-15:12 | Eric)
• “Biodegradable bags and sacks are great, but what happens is, you get one area where you have some vegetation loss, and that could happen in year one, year two, year five, and you're back at square one where that area is going to fail, because it's no longer protected. Because there's nothing there remaining, where with our system, again, the bags are going to be permanent.” (15:40-16:00 | Eric)
• “Another advantage is the material that we're using in the bag is about a 70% sand, 30% topsoil mix. So in addition to being great growing media for plant material, it also acts as a filter for some of the pollutants that might be flowing over on their way down to the lakefront.” (18:12-18:30 | Eric)
  

The views expressed are that of the individual and do not represent the opinions of any companies past, present or future.
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Connect with Eric Seidl:
Website: https://www.envirolok.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-seidl-1a1085136/
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