River, Stream & Watercourse Problems
Riverbank disappearing? Stream changing course? Gabions failing or erosion threatening land, access or structures? OddGround helps connect unusual river and watercourse problems with relevant specialists across the UK.
Tell Us About Your Watercourse ProblemRiver and stream problems can change surprisingly quickly.
A river or stream that has crossed land for generations can begin causing problems when flow patterns change, banks erode or existing protection starts to fail.
What begins as a small section of exposed bank can develop into substantial land loss. Fences can become undermined, tracks can move closer to the water and bridge approaches, culverts or other structures can become exposed.
In other situations the problem may involve an old gabion wall, revetment or previous bank repair that is itself deteriorating.
These jobs often require experience beyond ordinary landscaping or general groundworks because the contractor is working with flowing water, unstable banks and potentially difficult access.
OddGround helps make those specialist enquiries easier to place.
What is happening on your land?
Start with the problem that most closely matches what you are seeing. You do not need to know the technical name of the solution.
Riverbank Erosion Repair
Help finding specialists where flowing water is removing soil, stone or supporting material from a riverbank.
Riverbank erosion repair →Collapsing Riverbanks
Bank sections slipping, cracking, falling into the river or becoming unstable following erosion or high water.
Collapsing riverbank →Stream Bank Stabilisation
Specialist stabilisation where smaller streams and watercourses are undermining banks, fields, gardens or access routes.
Stream bank stabilisation →Gabion & Revetment Repair
Failed, displaced or undermined gabions, stone protection, revetments and previous erosion-control works.
Gabion & revetment repair →Watercourse Clearance
Significant debris, fallen material, vegetation or obstructions affecting the movement of water through a private watercourse.
Watercourse problems →Scour & Erosion Problems
Localised erosion around bridges, culverts, outfalls, walls, banks and other structures exposed to flowing water.
Scour & erosion →Riverbank erosion is not always a slow process.
Riverbanks naturally change over time, but some sites experience much more significant erosion than others. High flows, saturated ground and changes in the direction of water can remove material from the base or face of a bank.
Undercutting
Flowing water can erode the lower section of a bank while the ground above initially appears intact. Eventually the unsupported section can slump or collapse into the watercourse.
High-water events
Periods of high flow can dramatically increase the force acting on vulnerable banks and may expose weaknesses that were not previously obvious.
Saturated ground
Wet ground can lose stability, particularly where a steep bank has already been undercut or disturbed.
Failed previous protection
Older gabions, stone pitching, revetments and other bank-protection measures can themselves become undermined, displaced or damaged.
Changes upstream or downstream
Alterations elsewhere in a watercourse can sometimes change how water approaches a particular section of bank, concentrating flow in a new location.
Just tell us what you're seeing.
A useful enquiry does not need engineering terminology.
Where these problems occur
Farms
Eroding field boundaries, threatened tracks, crossings and agricultural land beside streams and rivers.
Private Estates
Watercourses running through woodland, parkland, lakes, historic landscapes and estate infrastructure.
Rural Homes
River and stream erosion affecting gardens, boundaries, access routes or land adjoining private property.
Commercial Land
Watercourses adjoining yards, access roads, developments and privately managed sites.
Woodland
Remote watercourses where erosion, fallen trees and restricted access can make specialist work more difficult.
Bridges & Crossings
Erosion and scour around bridge approaches, abutments, culverts, fords and private crossings.
What information should you send?
Describe the site
- Approximate location or postcode
- River, stream or ditch involved
- Approximate length of affected bank
- What is located close to the erosion
- Whether machinery can reach the site
- Whether the problem is getting noticeably worse
Send what you have
- Photographs of the affected bank
- Wider photographs showing the watercourse
- Images after high water if available
- Previous repair details
- Survey or engineer's report
- Existing remedial specification
Got a river or stream problem and not sure who deals with it?
Tell us what's happening, where the site is and what the water is affecting. Add photographs and any existing reports where available and OddGround can help connect suitable enquiries with relevant independent specialists.
Submit a River or Watercourse Enquiry