Excavator creates supporting wall with boulders - GIF

[Frank S]

For any erosion control walls, I ever had any dealings with constructing. I always specified adding dead men anchors if the wall was to exceed than twice its thickness in height

[BuffaloJohn]

For any erosion control walls, I ever had any dealings with constructing. I always specified adding dead men anchors if the wall was to exceed than twice its thickness in height

Yes, that is an important consideration. "Deadmen" increase the horizontal width of the wall which can dramatically decrease the tipping the wall might experience. However, hydraulic pressure is a force that must be considered and if the force is at the top of the wall, that force can still cause a wall to tip - hence the need for leaky backfill that does not pool the water but rather lets it flow slowly and broadly to the base where it's force has less effect on tipping.

There was a wall I built that was about 14ft tall, had geo-textile material (think heavy thickness plastic webbing) extending 6ft minimum back from the face of the wall, and backfilled with compacted crushed rock (3/4 minus).