River Bank Works – Overflow Erosion Protection
Climate change is likely to increase demand for flood protection work. For some areas in Europe, greater peak river flows are anticipated with a consequent increased risk of flooding.
Problems
The more obvious protection measures frequently introduce additional problems:
- Larger channels can reduce flood risk but are expensive, and have a considerable adverse environmental impact.
- If river embankments are overtopped, the embankments themselves are at risk from erosion by the overtopping water OSA being placed.
Solutions
- Relatively low value land can be used as temporary flood plains, with overflow waters contained by earth embankments.
- Durable erosion protection for flood conditions – either OSA on geotextile or the asphalt-reinforced geomat – may also be placed on the ‘dry’ side of the river embankment Revetment during flood conditions.
The pictures show both measures on a Belgian river.
