Culverting in exceptional circumstances

It is acknowledged that in exceptional circumstances, culverting of a section of a watercourse may be unavoidable. This may apply where there are insurmountable inherent structural problems such as slope stability and land slippage. However, even in such circumstances, other solutions such as bank reinforcement, gabion wall construction and underpinning should be considered first, as they will usually have lesser long term environmental / ecological impacts. Similarly, where there are health and safety concerns arising from open access to watercourses or hazardous riverbanks, the construction of solid barriers such as fencing, or planting of 'soft' landscape barriers, should be considered as alternatives to culverting.