Problem
The riverbank is slowly eroding away, making the road on the dike less stable. To end this process the riverbank needed restoration.
Conventional methods use plastic. And materials still erode over time.
Solution
A little further downstream you can find a riverbank with riparian vegetation intermixed with small pools of water. This variety of habitats provides a high level of biodiversity for plants, fish and amphibians. The reed between the river and the pools prevents erosion of the riverbank. BESE developed different designs that mimic this highly versatile landscape.
These biodegradable riverbank designs are meant to kickstart nature and are biobased and biodegradable. Eventually leaving a high diversity of nature behind, that is protecting the dike and road.
Designs
The designs contain no plastic and only need one third of the wooden poles compared to conventional riverbank restoration. BESE-elements are used as a wall between the dredging and wooden poles to promote root growth and macrofauna settlement. Control designs with conventional techniques were installed simultaneously to monitor the effectiveness of different implementations.
Designs (photos) and installation (video, click here).
Results
The conventional riverbank restoration method had to endure more erosion, limiting the regrowth of vegetation.
The restration method which included BESE-elements is a more dynamic structure on the water side. Erosion here was substantially less than the conventional method and there was complete regrowth of vegetation. (see pictures below)
Partners: Hoogheemraadschap, Brunea gardeners.
