Pond Baffle: The Type 1 Turbidity Curtain for Ponds

When dredging, grading, or outfall work stirs up silt, a pond baffle keeps it in one place so it settles out instead of clouding the whole pond.

Type 1 DOT pond baffle for calm water

A pond is a small, closed body of water. Once construction disturbs the bottom or the banks, there is little current to carry the cloudiness away, and the whole pond can turn murky quickly.

A pond baffle floats on a flotation boom and hangs an impervious fabric curtain into the water, with galvanized steel chain sealed into the bottom hem to keep it vertical. It holds the turbid water in one area long enough for the silt to settle, which protects the rest of the pond.

A turbidity curtain doesn't filter water. It buys time. Silt has to stay inside the retention area long enough to settle, and different particle sizes take different amounts of time to settle one foot, even in calm water. Fine particles take longer than coarse ones.

That is why ponds suit a Type 1 baffle so well. With little current moving through the containment area, particles have the time they need to drop out before they can migrate past the barrier.

This Tough Guy® Type 1 DOT barrier is the most frequently specified in the Tough Guy line. It is recommended for protected areas exposed only to light winds and to current velocities of less than one foot per second:

The fabric is commercial grade, not economy grade, and it meets or exceeds all DOT specifications.

1. Choose your depth: Pond baffles come in 50' sections in depths from 3' to 10'. Pick the depth that suits the water at your containment line.
2. Connect sections: Join sections end to end through the #4 brass grommets on the rope-reinforced edges with rope lacing or nylon ties (supplied separately).
3. Deploy the baffle: EPS flotation holds it at the surface, and the chain ballast keeps the curtain hanging vertically.
4. Anchor it in place: Anchorage consisting of stakes or concrete blocks may be required to maintain the baffle in its required position.

Not Sure a Type 1 Fits Your Pond?

Use the Turbidity Curtain Selector to match Type 1, 2, or 3 to your water conditions, or request a quote for custom sizes and volume orders.