Puerto Rico's coast is fringed with coral reefs and Rincon is home to one of the healthiest elkhorn coral communities in the Caribbean. Sediments that enter the water system and which end up in the ocean can kill corals by blocking the sunlight these reefs need to survive. There are many simple methods that can be implemented by real estate developers and home builders to reduce the amount of sediments that leave a construction site.
The easiest thing one can do in Puerto Rico is to do all earth moving during the dry season.
Home builders and contractors should install
Sediment Control Devices like hay bales and silt fencing.
Another sustainable strategy to reduce sediments is to work with nature and plant in the disturbed area.
As soon as we had completed the grading for our road at
Dos Ceibas in Rincon, PR, we planted over 2000 plants, shrubs and trees on the roadsides to help stabilize the soil and reduce erosion. These plantings are more than decorative, they are functional.
In this case, adding green is going green.
Sediment control helps maintain a healthy watershed and protects endangered coral reefs...learn more about the
Effects of Sedimentation on Coral Reefs.
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