Alignment training (timber pile fields)

Alignment training (timber pile fields) requires combined vegetation management and physical intervention. This strategy should be focused on a long-term goal of vegetation establishment, eventually making the engineered structure redundant.

Potential benefits from this intervention:

• Timber pile fields allow for some channel adjustment.
• Deposition of sediments, organic matter, seed propagules and establishment of vegetation.
• Use of biodegradable materials.
• Timber pile fields provide aquatic fauna habitat through physical and hydraulic diversity.

Potential negative implication from this intervention:

• Disturbance during construction, including vegetation removal and heavy machinery within rivers.
• Timber pile fields do not provide immediate stabilisation and may not halt ongoing bank movement.
• Timber pile fields may interfere with recreational activities.

Intervention considerations:

• Seek appropriate specialist advice and check legal obligations (e.g. permits).
• Not appropriate for fine grained (silty) systems.
• Confirm that the erosion processes are the result of high velocity flows directed at the riverbank.
• Evaluate the direction and rate of channel migration to see if it lends itself to redirection of flow (seek expert advice).
• Determine if other infrastructure is threatened and whether it could more efficiently be moved rather than protected.
• Consider the design life required from the structural component and whether vegetation can establish adequately in this timeframe.
• Alignment training may create less disturbance than hard engineering solutions, particularly where bank battering has not taken place.
• Safety of volunteers and employees including seasonal exposures (e.g. heat) and high risk areas (e.g. crocodile presence in waterways or areas with soil contaminant risks). 

Additional information

Publications:

Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE). 2007. Technical Guidelines for Waterway Management, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria.

Last updated: 9 June 2022