River channel relocation: Problems and prospects

Abstract

River relocation is the diversion of a river into an entirely new channel for part of their length (often called river diversions). Relocations have been common through history and have been carried out for a wide range of purposes, but most commonly to construct infrastructure and for mining. However, they have not been considered as a specific category of anthropogenic channel change. Relocated channels present a consistent set of physical and ecological challenges, often related to accelerated erosion and deposition. We present a new classification of river relocation, and present a series of case studies that highlight some of the key issues with river relocation construction and perform..