Control of bank erosion in the Netherlands : state of the art

In the Netherlands protection against flooding and inland navigation have always been extremely important. Many problems related to these items, among them erosion and the protection of banks and dikes, were and are solved within the scope of various specific studies supported by experience. Recently, much more attention is paid to environmental aspects of projects and applied measures. The increased demand on reliable design methods has resulted in development of various calculation methods on hydraulic loading, morphological changes and erosion prediction, and on the other side, in preparing a set of design methods and guidelines for protection structures. The developments in these areas in the Netherlands are discussed.