Contractors, Consultants and Researchers are praising our Rock Rolls and Rock Mattresses for their proven ability to offer sustainable cost effective solutions to more traditional hard engineering such as concrete, rip rap, gabions and blockstone.
Our solutions also provide habitats for wildlife without compromising performance.
Salix rock solutions stand the test of time and can help you achieve habitat and environmental criteria required by regulatory bodies.
Our Rock Rolls have been used in high energy situations to provide a more visually sensitive solution by blending into the environment where they are installed.
They work well when incorporated into designs created from fluvial hydraulics and geomorphology modelling. Traditional hard engineering may also suffer by creating local turbulence leading to subsequent scouring getting in behind or even under it, causing failure.
SuDS
Our Rock Rolls have also been used in many SuDS projects, including this one where a soft channel profile was created to deal with a new housing developments surface drainage and run off.
The Rock Rolls were stacked to aid stability, prevent scour and erosion issues plus allow reed colonisation which aids the removal of silts and sediments from the run off.
Also at Witton Gilbert where tight deadlines and a change in design meant that Rock Rolls and Mattresses were the ideal solution.
Reinstating Rivers & Habitats
In Johnstown, near Carmarthen, a gas pipeline had been exposed by the river scouring the bank, a rapid and effective solution was required to protect the pipeline. Two trees growing on the river bank had dramatically narrowed the river, impacting the flow and created a large scour pool directly over the gas line.
The riverbanks were protected from erosion through the installation of Rock Rolls, pre-planted Coir Rolls and coir matting. The Rock Rolls provide a very tough protection for a potentially very sensitive site.
Emergency Solutions
Below the A38 at Glynn Valley, Liskeard, the River Fowey had started to cut behind the old traditional hard engineering of placed boulders.
This was causing a threat to the bank supporting the main road 18m above.
This is a busy route and had to be kept open, so the works had to be done at night, making it essential that the solution was quick and easy to install.
Using the ready filled Rock Mattresses and Rock Rolls the river alignment was restored and the threat eliminated after only two nights of work.
This is an important fishing river and the result has also improved the fishing peg.
Preventing Erosion
Rock Rolls prevent undercutting, whilst also accreting sediment that is rapidly colonised by native plants.
Ablake Sluice near Langport, Somerset was upgraded to stop the erosion at each side of the weir on the River Yeo.
Increased flows were scouring the banks and threatening the functioning of the weir. The high flows were too high for unsupported vegetation and required Rock Rolls to be stacked to guide the flow in a smooth curve around the new bank profile. The pre-filled units were adapted on site to accommodate existing fixed features and delivered natural contours.
The Rock Rolls have prevented the scouring whilst allowing natural regeneration along the river bank.
Innovative uses of Rock Rolls and Mattresses can also be found on our River Tywi, River Teme and Lewes projects.
