Turbidity

Turbidity is the measurement of how cloudy water is. If you see a beautiful creek turn brown and yuck, it’s because somewhere upstream someone’s doing some sloppy work and not keeping the dirt away from it. High turbidity.

Those fabric fences, wattles, and riprap rocks you see around a construction site, those are there to keep the loose dirt from ever getting into the water and they’re called BMPs or “Best Management Practice”. So when you see a clear creek with fish and frogs downstream from a development where they’re moving a lot of dirt…that’s low turbidity and that’s good.

It’s responsible, it’s considerate, it’s smart, but it’s also expensive to keep up BMPs. In the construction world…it’s actually wrong not to and involves fines when you don’t. Even if they fail because of rain or any other reason. Because it’s important. Animals suffocate and fresh water sources dam up with silt otherwise.

Life’s no different. Things happen, improvements need to be made, “dirt” needs to be moved. It’s our human responsibility to have some best management practices in place so we keep our dirt where it’s supposed to be so we don’t affect or destroy beautiful things downstream. Sometimes it’s expensive and sometimes we don’t want to bother with it. But containing your construction site is important.

So when the opportunity arises or the need for change is evident in your life…evaluate how your movements will affect the people and relationships around you. Are they live giving, supportive, considerate, and clear? Low turbidity. Or are they sloppy, careless, and making otherwise clear things and people cloudy. High turbidity.