Specialty Sands
Overview
Specialty sands are graded in shapes and sizes, used typically for recreational purposes or industrial, to achieve better results than ungraded sand. For example, to control the rate of water flow in the earth in turf sand so as not to dehydrate the grass nor submerge their roots.
Equipped with the most thorough ranges of sands and gravels, we’re confident that we can provide you with the best products or mix to suit your project.
Bioretention Systems
Bioretention systems provide both stormwater treatment and conveyance functions. A bioretention swale component provides pre-treatment of stormwater to remove medium to coarse sediment while the bioretention system removes finer particles and associated contaminants.
Bioretention swales are particularly efficient at removing nutrients and provide flow retardation for frequent storm events. They consist of a vegetated trench located either along the invert of a vegetated swale or at the most downstream part of a swale. The swale component clogging in run-off areas through the surface vegetation, which promotes the settling of coarse and medium sized sediments and helps to prevent the clogging of bioretention components.
Stormwater is then percolated through the trench, which contains a prescribed soil, such as sand or gravel. The soil media supports vegetation growth and filters fine sediment out of stormwater. Some biological uptake of nutrients occurs through biofilms growing on the plant roots in the upper layer of the soil media. After percolating through the bioretention component, the water is collected within perforated under-drains for discharge or storage for reuse.
Uses of Specialty Sands
Apart from being used in water and wastewater treatment plants and pool filters, our graded sands are also typically used for:
- Textured and decorative coatings
- Slip-resistant surfaces
- Wet sandblasting
- Soil density testing