Hi everyone,
I am busy renovating my property near L’Isle Jourdain and the garden floods during winter months. The soil is being eroded by a tributary to the Vienne river and I need to build a retaining wall this summer. Does anyone know a cheap supplier of stone mear me - I will need enough for a wall 80m x 1m high.
Sorry, no idea where to get stone from near you. We used to live by a tributary of the mighty Creuse river and that flooded part of the garden every year and caused soil erosion. I was only concerned with protecting about 25 m of river bank where the garden was at its lowest but allowed easy access to the river in the summer ( gites, children…). Ours only normally flooded to about 20 cm in depth and I found a cheap, temporary solution by placing 20 cm hollow concrete blocks (parpaings) along the river back in a slightly overlapped pattern to slow down the flow.
Mind you, if you need something 1m high thats a serious amount of water to hold back. I would go speak to your maire first (you may well need full planning permission and definitely a declaration préalable). The river authorities will also need to be “consulted” and that isn’t a fun undertaking either.
Look locally for TP firms (travaux public) or terrassement. They have the werewithall and equipment, or ask Marie who the commune uses.
Hi Mark,
The river is a small tributary to the Vienne, but does have a lot of water through it when it rains heavily. My 1 metre height is to allow a foundation and to have about 40 - 50cm of wall above ground. The actual height of soil to be retained is about 30cm at the river bank - it slopes back and when the river floods it turns about 400m2 of garden into swamp. I did consider concrete blocks but from an aesthetic point I would rather it looked more natural.
Apparently there is no need for planning permission and it’s not holding back flow per se as all the water floods back into the river - it’s just to prevent further erosion. From looking at old photos of the property the soil was originally banked up but over the last century or so it has gradually been washed away and lowered.
Hi Jane,
Thank you - I will try that. Have contacted a few local firms already but not had any replies - hence I decided to post here.
I live near you and the only local source of stone I’ve found is Irribarren. Pop into their quarry on the 729 towards Moulismes and ask for their advice. You can’t miss it. It’s the place with all the rock…
That sounds horrifically expensive. A good way to build a levee is using stone filled gabions. You can then cover with a waterproof tech barrier and then soil filled (or better, coir) hessian sacks. You then plant grass on it and in 12 months you will have a beautiful natural looking levee that will last for 100 years.
5 Likes
I would still suggest you talk this “wall project” through with your Mairie…
They will be able to confirm what you can and cannot do… and where you can do it 
Also, if there is any paperwork to complete (possibly just the Declaration Préalable)… they will help you with this aspect.
It’s not common, but there have been occasions where walls and/or their foundations have not been correctly sited… and worse still… where constructions have had to be removed altogether…
On these occasions, the Owner thought they were within their Rights… didn’t bother with The Mairie… but they’d overlooked something… and it came home to bite 'em.
and certainly speak with The Mairie before laying out any money… it might seem needless hassle, but it’s actually very straight forward and could prove worth it in the end…
cheers
2 Likes
As its their water causing the damage they should chip in. Thats after the case of the chap, was it on SF? That was told to take his small hydro generator out of “their water” .
They wanted about €65k for all sorts of surveys on bio impact and rare species so looks like a large can of worms.
I had the same (or it might have been me🤔), but mine was a bigger 25+kw installation.
1 Like
The Mairie should know if the river/water authorities do need to be consulted and advise accordingly.
there are all sorts of rules and regulations… depending on how the water is classified and likewise the terrain etc etc…
who owns what… and who can/cannot have the last word… is not always easy to understand…
1 Like
When it comes to paying out for works they ALL deny ownership 
1 Like
wouldn’t any of us… do just the same …
never the less… I sincerely reaffirm my advice to the OP…
1 Like
Absolutely, the Maire can call the shots and make the right person responsible.
1 Like
Houses next to rivers can look idyllic but when it rains!
I speak from experience as we bought a renter in 2008 in a pretty village in the Perigord noire and the garden ran down to the river. There was also a stream that that ran along the side of the garden and into the river. In summer months canoes would pass by from a leisure rental company up stream. Set in a tourist village it was beautiful.
One summer there was a storm cloud burst and within a very short space of time the river swallowed the garden and was lapping against the entrance door. At the bottom of the village was a flood plain which did its job just in time!
As for the river we had to keep our river bank in good order as it, not the river, belonged to us and the same applied to the owner of the opposite bank. As riparian owners we our boundaries met in the middle of the river but we didn’t own the water that ran over our land.
There are hidden and unforeseen responsibilities when living next to a river.
We sold the property in 2018 after 10 years of successful letting. It is now someone else’s Idyllic problem.
An 80m × 1m stone retaining wall is some undertaking. You mention the height includes foundations but next to a river a wall needs considerably more than a conventional foundation.
A water garden might be a better option, don’t try to fight nature, much better to live with it.
3 Likes
Thank you - wasn’t sure if they only sell to trade but I will try them.
@Stainless
How long is the garden river side bank and can you send some photos of the river from garden also the adjoining sides of your property.
From an engineering point of view…
If you shore up your part of the bank you could also cause more erosion of your neighbours banks and thus in time your nicely shored up bank can become an island.
If looking for a cheaper solution I’d use oak beams from roof renovations using a orga to drill deep down into the bank, I wouldn’t use concrete and stone.
Thanks for the advice. I have photos from 100 years ago and the garden was nicely banked up with a flat surface and a slope to the water. Over the years the water has washed the bank away and the garden now slopes to the river. For most of the year it is dry asn the water level is well below the garden. It is only during periods of heavy rain that we get flooding. If i left it for long enough we would have a very wide river bed with a trickle of water most of the year - not ideal. I will be attempting to restore the original layout with a sloped bank and adding stone to keep the soil in place.
I’ve bought part loads of gravel from them pretty cheaply.
Had a nice chat with the Mairesse and she has informed that it is my river bank and therefore it is my responsibility, so if I want to shore it up or let nature wash it away it’s up to me. I told her I do not intend to use any chemicals or bonding material (e.g. cement) so there would be no pollutants in the water. She has told me there is no need for permits, or to inform any authority (rivers etc,). So, when the weather improves and the water level drops I will get to work - just need to find enough stone now!
3 Likes