River Engineering: appraising the options for river bank protection ** - Essay Example

Moreover, the discussion shall provide photos of the river bank protection that have been appraised in this research as well as a comprehensive description of how these techniques work. The contemporary society is characterized by a scenario whereby environmental issues have become more important, just like any other social and economic issue (Robbins, 2008). This can be attributed to the increases awareness among different populace with regard to the importance of environment in promoting human well-being.

Soil erosion is one of the major factors that have facilitated the deterioration of the quality of the environment in various ways; for example, river bank erosion through natural flow of water has been attributed as one major factor that has facilitated the destruction of river banks. In most cases, river bank erosion usually conflict with certain human needs or use of river banks i.e. for purposes of aesthetic value. That is, the most noticeable challenge ascribed to river bank erosion is the loss of water front; this is usually referred as river bank property (Foster, 2011).

In regard to the importance of the aesthetic value of river banks and other anthropogenic uses, man has developed various ways that can be developed to promote the protection of this natural resource from destruction. Some of these methods involve the application of natural procedures with limited reinforcement to promote river bank protection for instance: Use of grass turfs that are reinforced with certain synthetic materials. On the other hand, some of the river bank protection methods are completely man-made and mechanical in nature, for example; construction of vertical structures for river bank protection methods such as gabions, steel trench, masonry gravity walls and bricks.

In some cases, stone wall structures have also been applied to facilitate the efforts of river