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![]() Indirect Techniques for Erosion Protection 
Rigid double-row retards are sometimes used as "cribs," filled with various 
materials to further reduce velocities behind the retard. This is a site-specific decision, 
dependent on the economics of filling versus using a less permeable facing design, and 
on the durability required of the filling material. Using local material such as hay or 
brush reduces permeability at low cost, but at the expense of durability, and relies on 
future deposition and vegetation for permanent velocity reduction. A stone filling 
provides permanent toe protection as well as permeability reduction, but requires a 
substantial facing to retain the stone, and will add substantially to the cost. Used tires 
(perforated to reduce buoyancy) provide an inexpensive and durable filling, if regulations 
permit such use. However, undermining or deterioration of the crib may result in an 
unsightly redistribution of the tires along downstream river banks, adding environmental 
insult to the injury of a failed structure. 
(b) Some designs, such as fence-type retards, require that the bottom member be 
approximately horizontal. Therefore, some leveling of the streambed along the line of 
the structure may be required during construction, which limits the use of these designs 
to ephemeral streams and minor scour situations, unless a material such as stone is used 
to build up the base. In that case, the stone will also serve as toe protection. Otherwise, 
any leveling of the streambed to expedite construction must be considered as being 
temporary, lasting only until the first flow event. 
(c) Carlson and Dodge (1962) present a method for determining the suitability of jack 
retards for a given situation, and for estimating the amount of deposition likely to be 
induced by them. 
8.1.6 IMPERMEABLE RETARDS 
The relative advantages and disadvantages of impermeable retards as compared to 
permeable retards were discussed in 8.1.5. Most aspects of materials and structural design 
are the same as for impermeable dikes (see 8.1.3). An impermeable retard of stone can be 
considered to be a form of longitudinal stone toe, discussed in 7.1.4 and most aspects of 
design discussed there are applicable to stone retards. 
8.2 OTHER FLOW DEFLECTING METHODS 
Structures other than dikes and retards may provide a means of altering hydraulic 
conditions in order to resist bank erosion in bends. One of the most intractable problems of 
river engineering is posed by the coupled processes of deposition of sediment on point bar 
faces and scour in the thalweg of bends. Several approaches have successfully addressed 
these coupled processes in some cases. These approaches alter secondary currents so that 
sediment transport away from the toe of the bank is reduced. This results in a more uniform 
cross-section shape, with shallower thalweg depths and a wider channel at low flow. These 
approaches include Iowa vanes, bendway weirs, and sills. 
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