TY - JOUR T1 - Fly ash erodibility JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 624 LP - 627 VL - 44 IS - 6 AU - Gary A. Lehrsch AU - Dale E. Baker Y1 - 1989/11/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/44/6/624.abstract N2 - In the northeastern United States, fly ash is removed from stack gases and commonly trucked to landfills for disposal. The cover soil and especially the underlying fly ash of these landfills are susceptible to erosion by water. Fly ash erodibility was estimated by collecting sediment eroded by natural rainfall in the field from standard erosion plots (1.8 m wide and 22.1 m long on a 9% slope of exposed fly ash). The universal soil loss equation (USLE) was used with direct measurements on-site to obtain estimates of the erodibility factor, K, for fly ash. These estimates were then compared to an estimate obtained using a soil erodibility nomograph. The K factors measured in the field ranged from 0.11 to 0.13 Mg ha h (ha MJ mm)−1 and averaged 0.122 Mg ha h (ha MJ mm)−1 A K factor of 0.122 Mg ha h (ha MJ mm)−1 was recommended for erosion control. With this K factor and the USLE, the surface topography of vegetated fly ash disposal areas was designed to limit soil loss to a tolerance level of 4.5 Mg (ha y)−1. Using the design K factor, erosion from vegetated demonstration plots, 73 m long on a 15% slope, was controlled. ER -