Sustainable Management of the Navigability of Natural Rivers (PIANC WG 236)

Abstract The PIANC InCom/EnviCom Working Group 236 was established in early 2021 to develop PIANC guidelines for improving navigability conditions on natural or quasi-natural rivers, while maintaining morphological processes and natural river form and function. Its key objectives include: 1) development of guidelines to improve and maintain the navigability in natural rivers; 2) assess the sustainability of river training works designed to improve the navigability; 3) assess the sustainability of dynamic river management (monitoring and shifting of navigation aids to adapt the navigation channel to the river dynamics); 4) highlight the technical, operational, economic and environmental considerations for navigation in natural rivers compared to that in regulated rivers and canals; and 5) improve the understanding of the physical processes in natural rivers, developed with or without river training works. The developed guidance includes a planning framework for developing a navigability improvement masterplan for a natural or quasi-natural river system, and the integrated and adaptive management strategies that can be applied at a system scale. Specific interventions and measures have been identified to meet the dual goals of maintaining morphological river function and improving navigability conditions. These measures include dynamic charting; morphological dredging and disposal management; Temporary, Adaptable, and Flexible Training Structures (TAFTS); riverbed armoring and sediment nourishment; rock excavation; meander cutoffs and oxbow development; localized traditional river training structures; and channel closure structures. The impacts and strategies for mitigation associated with some of the measures are analyzed and discussed. Finally, the continual monitoring, management, and operational tools available for improving navigability in a morphologically active river system is presented. It is recognized that natural and quasi-natural rivers will typically be more fluvially active and dynamic than systems that have used traditional methods for navigability improvements including heavily trained rivers or systems with locks and dams. These unrestricted and unconfined river systems, therefore, will require new and innovative strategies to monitor the fluvial and geomorphic changes of the system in order to inform managers and navigators of the river. Case studies are presented that include the Madeira River (Brazil); Magdalena River (Colombia); Niger Delta (Nigeria); Yangtze River (China); the Brahmaputra-Jamuna River (India); and the Red River (Vietnam).