Pacific Southwest Research Station

Development of a Road Cut and Fill Land Use Category for the Pollutant Load Reduction Model (PLRM)

Final Products available for download:

• Final Report
• RCAT Spreadsheet Tool
• Users Guide

Project Summary

The overall purpose of this project was to develop the data and tools necessary to improve estimates of pollutant loading and load reductions from road cut and fill slopes. The end product of this effort is the Road Cut and Fill Slope Sediment Loading Assessment Tool (RCAT), a simple and repeatable field assessment methodology and spreadsheet tool designed to assist the Lake Tahoe erosion control and stormwater community in characterizing the functional condition of road cut and fill slopes and estimating the associated sediment and FSP loading from these areas.

Figure: A heavily eroded cut slope with sediment deposition along the roadside (left). Conducting rainfall simulation on a bare road cut slope in Kings Beach, CA (right).