Worked Examples

Real sediment-basin sizing, RUSLE soil-loss, Camp's-equation, and forebay-design problems — solved end-to-end with every formula, every assumption, and every number shown. Each example uses the same SEDCAD4 engine that powers the HydroComplete app, so you can open the scenario and tweak any input.

5 acressilt loam10-yr stormNorth Carolina

Sediment basin sizing for a 5-acre residential subdivision in Mecklenburg County, NC

Full RUSLE → Camp's → 7-bin Stokes/Camp pipeline on a Charlotte residential subdivision. Comes out at 65.5% trap efficiency — below NCDEQ's 80%, so the example walks through forebay/PAM/upsizing remediation.

1 acreclay loam12% slopemountain NC

RUSLE soil loss with cover-factor comparison on a 1-acre Asheville construction site

Same 1-acre Asheville site solved four times: bare grading, straw mulch, erosion blanket, temporary seed. Shows where the C-factor row in the RUSLE table actually moves the needle.

QA checksilt loamdesign review6 acres

Trap-efficiency check for an existing sediment basin: Camp's equation, back-solved

Inherited a basin design from a similar prior project. Run the math before submitting: A_s and Q give the capture particle, then 7-bin Stokes/Camp gives 67% trap efficiency — below NCDEQ. What to do.

myth-bustersilt loam5 acresseries basin

Does a forebay improve trap efficiency? A worked counter-example

A widely-repeated rule says forebays raise trap efficiency. The math says otherwise: 65.5% → 66.0% with 10% forebay, → 67.0% with 40% forebay. Forebays do other useful things — but they're not a capture-rate fix.

PAM5 acressilt loamNPDES

PAM (polyacrylamide) in a sediment basin: from 65% to 92% trap efficiency

Same 5-acre basin from scenario 1. With 5 ppm anionic PAM dosed at the inflow, the 7-bin trap efficiency moves from 65.5% to ~92% — without enlarging the basin. Dosing rate, application methods, cost, and the NPDES turbidity story.