The problem of strengthening the coastline is especially worrying for those people whose real estate is located near water bodies of artificial or natural origin. A beautiful view of the water surface increases the attractiveness of residential and commercial buildings, influencing their cost. In order to enjoy communication with the water element longer, it is necessary to carry out shore protection work in a timely manner. Otherwise, water, having great destructive power, can provoke a gradual subsidence of the soil in the coastal zone and even contribute to its partial collapse. Washed shores are dangerous for a person and his property (movable and immovable), since the soil can simply "get out from under your feet" at any time. These processes adversely affect the plants planted on the site by landscape designers. It is better to take care in advance of strengthening the shores of the reservoir, without waiting for the appearance of alarming symptoms of the beginning of the destruction of the coastal zone. If preventive measures were not carried out in a timely manner, the destruction of the coast can be stopped. There are several effective technologies that allow you to perform work on shore protection at a high level.
Capital protection
To minimize the likelihood of damage to the coastal strip from the damaging effects of water allows capital protection. This group of shore protection works includes technologies based on the use of gabions, geomats, dowels, hydraulic types of concrete, and special bulk reinforced concrete structures.
Method # 1 - gabions
Gabions are called nets made of double-galvanized galvanized wire, which are laid out at the installation site into boxes, manually filled with large natural stone. For reliable fastening of individual structures to the ground, special anchors are used. Between themselves, the boxes are twisted with wire. After partial filling of the gabion with stone filling, the so-called “braces” are installed, which do not allow the opposite walls of the box to “diverge” to the sides.
The banks of the reservoirs, fortified with gabion structures, are not washed away and do not swim away. For many years, the contour of the coastline, set during shore protection works, has been preserved. This technology, long used in Europe, has found application in Russia. You can see gabion structures on ponds, rivers, bypass channels and other bodies of water.
The coastline of the river is neatly decorated with gabion structures that have a strict geometric shape. Natural stone, located in mesh boxes, in perfect harmony with the autumn forest
Method # 2 - PVC sheet pile
Sheet piles made on the basis of PVC and composite materials allow you to strengthen the coastline in the shortest possible time. This method of bank protection is considered low budget. Most of all, PVC sheet pile is suitable for arranging steep shores. One of the advantages of this material is the possibility of its secondary use. During installation, individual sheet piles are lined up in a continuous dense wall. Reliable connection of adjacent elements is ensured by a longitudinal rib protrusion on each sheet pile. Immersion of single or twin PVC sheet piles is carried out using autonomous hydraulic equipment selected taking into account soil conditions.
Schematic representation of the installation of sheet piles made of PVC materials to strengthen a steep steep bank of an artificial or natural reservoir
Decorative shore protection
The second group of materials used in shore protection measures include natural stone and wooden piles. These natural materials can not only protect the banks of water bodies from erosion processes, but also give them aesthetic appeal.
Method # 1 - wooden piles
Hardwoods are used as the starting material for the manufacture of log piles. Most often, for these purposes, larch or oak is selected. Greater preference is given to East Siberian larch, which, being in water, can retain its properties for half a century. The steep coast, framed by sanded larch trunks, carefully selected in diameter, looks very impressive. Especially if there is a building erected from a logs near a water mirror. Concrete fortifications, of course, lose to wooden piles, because they look gray and dull. However, over time, the wood may darken, which will degrade the decorative qualities of the shore protection structure. The rate of darkening of logs depends on the amount of organic matter in the water. When choosing a tree species, the climatic features of the region should be taken into account.
Installation of wooden piles can be carried out from the shore by using special equipment or in a simple manual way. Modern models of dredgers allow you to install wooden piles from the side of the reservoir. Strengthening the banks of water bodies with the help of logs is impractical to carry out on moving and loose soils.
A neat row of larch logs emphasizes the beauty of the shore of the reservoir, preventing its deformation under the influence of the destructive power of water. Strengthening the shore with wooden piles provides a safe approach to the pond
Method # 2 - natural stone
Dumping of the coastline with natural stone of various sizes is used on the shallow shores of great length. The value of the slope angle of the coast should not exceed 20 degrees. If there are access roads for the transport of boulders or pebbles, vehicles are used. In hard-to-reach places, work is carried out manually. Before laying the stone, the preparation of the shore surface is mandatory. If we neglect these stages, then the stones will simply drown in the soil saturated with water. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to lay on a reinforced coastal zone a bearing base, which can be used as a material such as geotextile, geogrid or geogrid.
The gentle shore of the reservoir is strengthened by a volumetric geogrid, the cells of which are filled with fine-grained gravel. The walls of the cells prevent the sliding of crushed stone into the channel of the reservoir
The device of a stone castle during the construction of the coastline of an artificial decorative reservoir. The painstaking work of laying the boulders is done manually by the masons
A more laborious way is to strengthen the coastal strip of the reservoir with the help of a "stone castle". This term in the language of professional masons is called the dense laying of boulders (stones whose diameter exceeds 10 cm). For each boulder, a laying location is selected, taking into account its shape and color. At the same time, large stones are transferred manually by the master mason. For a shift, a professional in his field is able to drag a few tons of boulders. This method of shore protection is associated with great physical effort, but in the end it turns out not only to strengthen the shore line of the reservoir, but also to give it a special, unique look.
Coastal enhancement with biomats and plants
The most time-consuming and time-consuming method is shore protection, based on bioengineering technologies. With this approach, the banks of the reservoir protect from erosion:
- biomats made from flax or coconut fibers;
- plants specially selected by specialists for planting along the coastline;
- wood and natural stone.
The most commonly used plants are willow trees (willow, black poplar, etc.), as well as shrubs (sea buckthorn, amorphous, vesicles, etc.). Macrophytes are also suitable, which include sedge, cattail, reed, marsh iris, mannik, calamus, calyx and other species of the plant world, perfectly adjacent to water. All plants should have a powerful, well-branched, root system. Plants are selected taking into account the degree of their resistance to flooding. Ready turf is laid on the coastal zone. This process is called the sodding of the coastal slope.
The shores of the artificial pond, built on the site of the former ravine, were strengthened by planting plants and willow trees
The bioengineering method of shore strengthening is used in water bodies, in which the water flow rate does not exceed 1 m / s.
Dates of shore protection
When constructing an artificial reservoir on a personal plot, work to strengthen the shores of the future structure is best done at the stage of excavation.
The installation of log piles is carried out at the stage of forming the bowl of an artificial reservoir. After designing the coastline, they begin to fill it with water.
If it is planned to implement a large-scale project, bank protection works are entrusted to professional companies with special equipment and trained personnel. In natural water bodies, work is carried out at a convenient time for preventive purposes or in a short time when there is a threat of coastline destruction. Timely resolution of the problem will save money and prevent catastrophic consequences for objects built on the shore of a reservoir.
