PWD Stormwater Soil was originally developed by the Philadelphia Water Department as part of a large green infrastructure policy. The PWD Stormwater Soil was designed to mitigate stormwater runoff when used in applications such as rain gardens, bioretention basins and bioswales. The soil is designed to absorb, infiltrate, and filter stormwater runoff into the ground where it can safely recharge groundwater systems and reduce surface flooding. PWD requires blenders to certify their compliance of this mix twice a year. Laurel Valley Soils has been involved with the PWD Green Infrastructure program from inception and has been an approved supplier every year. Many other cities and municipalities have since adopted this well preforming specification. The goal of a bioretention basin is to capture and divert stormwater runoff displaced from impervious surfaces. Well-designed basins also filter out untreated pollutants that otherwise might flow directly into waterways. Many bioretention basins are large in scale and while they can have attractive plantings, these utilitarian designed basins are generally located out of sight, at the low end of a parking lot or downslope from a building or road.
A stormwater management plan is now a requirement with all new construction that creates impervious surfaces. Water must be contained on site or at least slowed down to prevent flooding and pollutant movement. Bioretention basins are part of the building and zoning code and are required for most building projects including renovations and expansions. The understanding and design of these soils is evolving rapidly.
Storm Water Management
Aged Mushroom Compost (AMC) is an all-purpose compost for landscapes, gardens, farming, soil reclamation, commercial site work and soil blending. Aged Mushroom Compost is composted in the same windrows as our Premium Compost. The main difference is that it is not screened and it is not stockpiled in our covered storage structures. This is a great option for large volume budget sensitive projects, as the important nutrient, biological, and organic matter benefits are the same as with our Premium Compost. AMC is made from our standard blend of the highest grade agricultural feedstocks, composted at our state of the art facility and tested regularly to verify and ensure quality and consistency.
Fresh Mushroom Compost (FMC) is the best quality, lowest cost, all-purpose organic matter source available in the compost industry. Fresh Mushroom Compost comes fresh from the mushroom growing beds immediately following the mushroom harvest and a steam pasteurization treatment. Unscreened, and without additional processing, this mushroom compost is our most economical offering and is also light enough to be efficiently hauled in larger loads on tractor trailers. Also known as Mushroom Soil, Mushroom Mulch, and Mushroom Substrate, FMC is great for mulching gardens, spreading on crop fields, and topdressing lawns. It is also ideal for use in large industrial scale soil remediation projects.
Rain Garden Soils are designed to manage stormwater much like bioretention soils, however they are generally used in smaller scale applications with more ornamental and visually pleasing plantings. This is because rain gardens are often located close to and around buildings and are integrated into the larger aesthetic landscape design. These smaller scale features are a more convenient choice for old sites that are required to upgrade their stormwater infrastructure to meet current building and zoning codes. Rain Gardens are effective because they can be implemented in multiple small installations interspersed in multiple locations around a property that collectively capture the total volume of displaced stormwater.
A stormwater management plan is now a requirement with all new construction that creates impervious surfaces. Water must be contained on site or at least slowed down to prevent flooding and pollution. Bioretention basins are part of the building code and are required for most all building projects including renovations and expansions. The understanding and design of these soils is evolving rapidly.
Other industry names used are Bio-soil, Stormwater Soil, Filter Media, Amended Soil, Engineered Soil.
Bioretention Soil is designed specifically to absorb, infiltrate, and filter stormwater runoff into the ground where it can safely recharge our groundwater systems and reduce surface flooding. The goal of a bioretention basin is to capture and divert stormwater runoff displaced from impervious surfaces. Well-designed basins also filter out untreated pollutants that otherwise might flow directly into waterways. Many bioretention basins are large in scale and while they can have attractive plantings, these utilitarian designed basins are generally located out of sight, at the low end of a parking lot or downslope from a building or road.
A stormwater management plan is now a requirement with all new construction that creates impervious surfaces. Water must be contained on site or at least slowed down to prevent flooding and pollutant movement. Bioretention basins are part of the building code and are required for most all building projects including renovations and expansions. The understanding and design of these soils is evolving rapidly.
Other industry names used are Bio-Soil, Stormwater Soil, Filter Media, Amended Soil, Engineered Soil.
Garden Soil is the choice for when a little more ‘oomph!’ is needed. Specifically developed with customer input, Garden Soil was designed for raised garden beds and other applications where a more organically rich soil is desired. However, there are unlimited useful applications for this mix. Customers are using it for regular planting beds, finish grading under sod, filling in divots, and topdressing just to name a few. Garden Soil is made from a 70/30 blend of Premium Compost and native loam soil. This richer soil blend has increased fertility and water holding capacity.
Quality soil is the foundation of every great landscape. Our Enriched Topsoil is the highest quality, best performing all-purpose landscape soil, and we ensure unparalleled consistency from load to load, year in and year out. Enriched Topsoil is a well balanced loam soil with a rich dark brown color, is screened to a half inch, and is stored out of the elements in an expansive covered building. Because of our large scale infrastructure and state of the art equipment, we are able to stockpile inventories so that we can provide our soil year round to meet our customers’ needs, whether that be one truck load for a residential landscape or a thousand truck loads for a highway infrastructure project.
Laurel Valley Soils’s Premium Compost is an STA Certified, high quality all-purpose compost for landscapes, gardens, farming, commercial, reclamation, DOT Projects and soil blending. This high end yet practical compost is our go-to workhorse, thanks to its high organic matter content, broad spectrum of slow release nutrients and beneficial microorganisms.
We use Premium Compost as a core ingredient in most of our soil blends and it stands on its own as a great topdressing and in situ soil amendment. Premium Compost is made from a blend of the highest grade agricultural feedstocks, composted at our state of the art facility and tested regularly through the US Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) Program to verify and ensure quality and consistency. Applying compost is the best way to build fertile, productive, and healthy soil.
