Contouring bank

[USAFpj]

When my grader was finished cutting into the bank to level a pad, the sloped portion has a pretty sharp edge/cliff. Seems pretty simple to take a rake and just contour the top of the slop, and blend it in with the angle of the bank as best as possible. Am I overthinking this, or is the crest necessary to help with erosion? I have a 6ft wide swale between the bank and the building, so water shouldn't be an issue.

 

[AchingBack]

When my grader was finished cutting into the bank to level a pad, the sloped portion has a pretty sharp edge/cliff. Seems pretty simple to take a rake and just contour the top of the slop, and blend it in with the angle of the bank as best as possible. Am I overthinking this, or is the crest necessary to help with erosion? I have a 6ft wide swale between the bank and the building, so water shouldn't be an issue.

View attachment 467606

You should reconfigure the slope to be concave. A concave slope will greatly help to reduce erosion.

 

[USAFpj]

You should reconfigure the slope to be concave. A concave slope will greatly help to reduce erosion.

No wonder you have an achingback. I ain't that worried about the slope.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I would smooth it off to an angle and width that is easy to mow with the tractor... I hate weedeaters!

 

[oosik]

I would leave it like it is now and see what your seasonal rain does to it. That will be the best indicator of any additional landscaping requirements. Its also important to ensure that future erosion from the cut bank does not fill the drainage swale. Looks like the swale is far enough away from the building foundation that you can maintain it with your tractor.

It may be necessary, in the future, that the cut bank be covered with that "highway dept erosion cloth" and seeded. But I would wait and see.

 

[USAFpj]

It may be necessary, in the future, that the cut bank be covered with that "highway dept erosion cloth" and seeded. But I would wait and see.

Exactly what I was thinking, oosik :thumbsup:

 

[s219]

If your soil behaves like ours, eventually the edge of the bank will wash out and undermine the roots of the trees up there. Quite a bit of water seeps under the topsoil above the clay, and it will wash out the layer between the topsoil and clay over time. You'll know when trees/shrubs start toppling over the bank. I wouldn't worry about it right away, but put it on your to-do list.

Around here we know a 2:1 slope is the minimum to keep erosion at bay. Some people use rip-rap, but it's very expensive.