Geotextile containment for hydraulic and environmental engineering

Historically, geotextile containment has been used to encapsulate sandy soils to permit their use as flexible, erosion-resistant, mass-gravity structures in hydraulic and marine applications. More recently, geotextile containment has been used as a means of disposing of, and dewatering, various waste streams and contaminated sediments. The paper reviews the three main geotextile containment units in use – geotextile tubes, geotextile containers and geotextile bags – and analyses their use in a wide range of hydraulic and environmental applications. Special attention is given to the use of geotextile containment for the isolation, dewatering, and disposal of specific waste streams and contaminated sediments. Note: This paper is an updated version of the Giroud Lecture presented by C. R. Lawson at the 8th International Conference on Geosynthetics held in Yokohama, Japan, in 2006.