Due to environmental protection efforts, there is a growing number of beavers in the Netherlands. As these animals make their burrows in the levee system they cause damage within it, increasing the risk of flooding. This paper assesses the factors which increase the risk of beaver activity within the …

This study explores the effect of precipitation, evaporation, animal burrowing and the changing climate on the permeability of the clay cover layer on a dike. It also showcases the possibility of utilizing finite difference flow models, such as MODFLOW, for the simulation of various environmental impacts …

1. Topics of interest were defined following a risk based approach. 2. Study priorities were set based on knowledge gaps in current practices, but they were conditioned by pragmatic limitations. 3. Focus topics : failure modes, detection and monitoring and repairs. 4. Serious failures can occur in sections …

Engineers design levees without taking into account animal activity. But in reality: *Levees attract burrowing animals *Many of them are protected (e.g. beavers) *It is not always easy to detect burrows and remove them Topics of interest are: 1. Eco engineering approaches for deterrence of animals …

Animal burrows create discontinuities on the body of earthen levees that under certain circumstances can threaten their structural integrity through hydraulic alteration and surface erosion. Although it is a virtually established fact that discontinuities can undermine the structural integrity of levees, …

Infosheet. When high water is expected, levee managers need to make sure that there are no weak spots on the levee that can compromise its structural integrity. Animal burrows on a section can constitute weak spots that have to be urgently repaired in anticipation of high water. Within the context of …

Infosheet. Within the context of animal burrows surveys that took place in the test season 2021-2022 in the living lab Hedwige-Prosperpolder, an experimental setup with smoke bombs was developed to verify whether detected burrows by small rodents are interconnected in the subsurface. By injecting colored …