river engineering

river engineering [′riv·ər ‚en·jə‚nir·iŋ]

(civil engineering)

A branch of transportation engineering consisting of the physical measures which are taken to improve a river and its banks.

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River engineering

A branch of civil engineering that involves the control and utilization of rivers for the benefit of humankind. Its scope includes river training, channel design, flood control, water supply, navigation improvement, hydraulic structure design, hazard mitigation, and environmental enhancement. River engineering is also necessary to provide protection against floods and other river disasters. The emphasis is often on river responses, long-term and short-term, to changes in nature, and stabilization and utilization, such as damming, channelization, diversion, bridge construction, and sand or gravel mining. Evaluation of river responses is essential at the conceptual, planning, and design phases of a project and requires the use of fundamental principles of river and sedimentation engineering. See Canal, Dam