River management hard/ soft engineering - WATER CYCLE

Question 1

What are the three types of Hard engineering

Answer 1

1. Multipurpose dams
2. Channelisation
3. Dredging

Question 2

What are the two types of Soft engineering

Answer 2

1. Bank protection
2. Floodplain restoration and ecology

Question 3

Multipurpose dams - HARD

Answer 3

• Often built across the channel in order to store water and regulate the discharge of the river. It is stored upstream and released when needed.
• Typical problems are the disruption of migratory fish, sediments and increased rates of erosion downstream

Question 4

Channelisation - HARD

Answer 4

• Deliberate attempt to alter the natural geometry of the river by straightening the channel and deepening and widened to increase the capacity of the channel

Question 5

Dredging - HARD

Answer 5

• Where bed-load is removed form the channel of the river through digging etc. To increase the area and capacity and also hydraulic efficiency.

Question 6

Bank protection - SOFT

Answer 6

• To prevent bank erosion such as by enforcing gabions, groynes and spurs.

Question 7

Flood plain restoration and ecology - SOFT

Answer 7

Engineering the river to restore its natural patterns of meander, migration and flooding. This can be done in two ways, either through removal of river regulation or though engineering such as sluice gates (channels for conducting water through resulting gates) and landscaping. For ecology, it is mostly about restoring and enhancing natural over ecology.