"SLASHBUSTER"® as flood control equipment

Vegetation encroachment issues are central to any flood control program and inexpensive, low-impact treatment is key to success. Slashbuster® attachments on long reach excavators are providing flood control disticts all over the U.S. with a new solution that saves money, property and lives.

"...a marvelous piece of equipment which is aiding tremendously in our flood abatement program."

-Birmingham Alabama's mayor Bernard Kincaid in his January 2002 state of the city adress.

Flooding events are magnified when dense vegetation slows the water flow . To remedy this, the operator simply shreds trees and vegetation as they stand, then rakes the resultant debris high above water level to prevent it from entering the channel. Soil and seed bed disturbance is minimized by walking the equipment over wooden pads as seen in the second image, and the root systems of mulched trees remain in place to stabilize the drainage bank.

Historically, flood control projects often bulldozed encroaching vegetation to the side while a dragline scraped the remaining debris from the channel and its banks. While this control method was efficient, its side effect was bank destabilization, increase in sediment load to the waterway and an obliteration of vegetation cover. Because of these concerns, new flood control equipment was sought and the "SLASHBUSTER"® was found. Flood control Gallery.