ES8 - Erosion/sediment control

Infiltration trenches are defined as shallow excavations filled with rubble or stone. Their function is to facilitate the natural process of infiltration into the surrounding soils from the bottom and sides of the trench, thereby enhancing the soil's inherent capacity for drainage. Ideally, they should receive lateral inflow...

Dams and other transversal barriers are obstacles crossing the river section and causing discontinuities for sediment and fauna. Removing them consists in destroying all the obstacles, restoring the slope and the longitudinal profile of the river, therefore allowing re-establishment of fluvial dynamics, as well as sedimentary and ecological...

Soakaways are buried chambers that store surface water and allow it to percolate into the ground. They are typically square or circular excavations either filled with rubble or lined with brickwork, pre-cast concrete or polyethylene rings/perforated storage structures surrounded by granular backfill. The supporting structure and backfill...

Swales are broad, shallow, linear vegetated channels which can store or convey surface water (reducing the rate and volume of runoff) and remove pollutants. They can be used as conveyance features to pass the runoff to the next stage of the SuDS treatment train and can be designed to promote infiltration where soil and groundwater conditions...

Riverbanks hold a key position in the functionality of floodplains as they constitute the gradual transition between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. However, due to technical constructions, the majority of riverbanks in temperate regions are far from their ecological potential.

Groundwater is the part of infiltrated water which composes the water resource for population and human activities.  Previous modifications of the landscape have reduced the infiltration capacity of many European soils, thereby limiting the rate at which precipitation is able to infiltrate and recharge groundwater aquifers. Restoration of natural infiltration to groundwater enables a lowering of run-off from surrounding land, and...

Seasonal streams or intermittent rivers are rivers for which surface water ceases to flow at some point in space and time. They comprise a large proportion of the global river network and are characterised by dynamic exchanges between terrestrial and aquatic habitats. These habitats support aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial biota. Seasonal streams provide essential ecosystem services to society, including flood control and irrigation....

Retention ponds are ponds or pools designed with additional storage capacity to attenuate surface runoff during rainfall events.  They consist of a permanent pond area with landscaped banks and surroundings to provide additional storage capacity during rainfall events.  They are created by using an existing natural depression, by excavating a new depression, or by constructing embankments.  Existing natural...

A riverbank protection is an inert or living construction providing bank fixation but also an obstacle for the lateral connection of the river. Eliminating it consists in removing some parts of the bank protection, especially the inert one, in order to enhance lateral connections of the river, diversify flows (depth, substrate, and speed) and habitats, but also cap floods in the mainstream. It is a prerequisite for many other measures like re...

According to the Convention on Wetlands (1971), a wetland is an area of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres. 

Wetlands play a crucial role in regulating the global climate and are natural biofilters for pollutant removal, nutrient...