Water & Sediment Control Basin
A Water and Sediment Control Basin (WASCOB) is an embankment or a combination of a ridge and channel that is constructed across a slope or small waterway to form a detention basin and sediment trap. The purpose behind a WASCOB is to reduce erosion, trap sediment, improve water quality, and improve the workability of the land. A WASCOB is generally constructed where there is irregular topography and erosion of cropland is present.
The soil and site conditions also must be favorable for such a practice and there must be a suitable outlet location for the basin. A WASCOB allows an operator to continue to work the land but also provides for water and sediment control in conjunction with other practices such as terraces, contouring, conservation cropping system, conservation tillage, and crop residue management to complete a planned conservation system.
Basins are spaced at terrace intervals and the drawdown time should be no more than 24 hours for cropland and 48 hours for pasture land. Basins are also sized to accommodate machinery widths. The maximum runoff to each basin can be no more than 30 acres.
