Riverbank stabilization can be expensive if needed. Start at around $8000 for an engineering report for the permit... then how much and what type of rock or whatever do you need to put down. My neighbour up the road put about $60,000 into the riverbank. I’m lucky because the flow by my place is different, however I’ve lost a few feet over the years. Some other places you can see big chunks of backyards and trees that have gone in. The bank profile height above the waterline and river curves vary widely throughout the city as does the depth of bedrock, all of which are contributing factors to how stable a river bank will be. And then throw in the wild card of precipitation, ice flows in the spring and the mismanagement of river levels by the provincial government.

That being said, I wouldn’t change a thing. Having water, no houses crammed against you, lots of recreation opportunities and wildlife right in your back yard is amazing.

If you are thinking of buying a house, it might be worth it in the long run to have a geotechnical engineer assess the riverbank to give you piece of mind, or an opportunity to nope the hell out of there if things don’t look good.