If erosion occurs somewhere

If erosion occurs somewhere, five main options are available

1 Do nothing
If erosion causes no problems, this is the favourite option.

2 Take away the cause of the problems
This is theoretically always the best thing to do, but since you need to know what the cause is and you have to be able to do something about it, it is not always feasible. A solution that comes close is to build groynes along a coast where the erosion is caused by long-shore transport. If the erosion is caused by cross-shore transport, groynes are useless! 

3 Supply sediment
This may seem a poor solution, since it cures nothing and it may have to go on forever, but it is often a good measure. It is very flexible and fits very well in environment strategies.Whether this is the right option depends mainly on costs and risks, since sediment is usually supplied with intervals of several years. For coasts and rivers this "soft" solution can be an attractive alternative. Further treatment of this option is part of morphological studies.

4 Reduce the loads
This can be done by constructing a breakwater in front of an eroding coast.  Only the design of such a breakwater is capable.

5 Increase the strength
This the "hard" solution. It is not a very flexible option and it can sometimes lead to more erosion in adjacent areas. In many cases however, especially when there is a lot of pressure to preserve the available space, it is the only solution.