Developments of low cost riverbank protection in Bangladesh

Over the last two decades the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has developed the widely accepted riverbank protection technology of geotextile bag revetments, consisting of multiple layers of systematically dumped geobags below low water plus a single layer of concrete blocks above low water. The original design characteristics from the early 2000s have proven sufficient for the most common application alongside largely agricultural land, with emphasis on the dimensions of the toe apron. In case of more severe design requirements, geotextile bags have been used as filter layer covered with rock. By and large geotextile bag revetments have become the backbone for a more stabilized Brahmaputra River System with a narrowed river corridor.