Studies on river training

Abstract

This editorial regards a Special Issue of Water on river training. It introduces five papers in a framework of history, fundamentals, case studies and future. Four papers result from decades of experience with innovation, planning, design and implementation of river training works on rivers in Colombia, the Rhine branches in the Netherlands and the Brahmaputra-Jamuna River in Bangladesh. A fifth paper reviews the state-of-the-art in predicting and influencing the formation and behavior of river bars. The editorial argues that the future lies in more flexible river training, using a mix of innovative permanent structures and recurrent interventions such as dredging, sediment nourishment, vegetation management and low-cost temporary structures.