Breakwaters

Groynes, also called breakwaters or jetties, are transversal structures that advance from the existing bank to the new bank line, to reduce the excessive width of the riverbed, causing sedimentation in the area limited by them and generating a displacement in the axis of the riverbed; they channel, correct or control the natural course of the water. These structures have the purpose of directing the flow of the current, preventing the forces of the water from impacting on the margins. They are generally used in groups to create sedimentation zones between them and consequently the disposal of solid material, thus reconstructing margins already affected by erosion. They are structures that are attached to the bank and interposed to the current, which allows the current to be diverted and moved away from the bank and prevents it from dragging the particles that form it. The breakwaters are built within the channel with blocks of rock of considerable dimensions, or with prefabricated concrete elements (cubes, parallelepipeds, idols and tetrapods or quadripods) that are placed in the water, in rivers, streams or close to the sea coast.