Berm and method of construction thereof

A berm comprising:

• a reinforced portion having opposing inner and outer surfaces and comprising:
• fill material;
• a plurality of facing baskets each comprising a substantially horizontal portion and a substantially vertical portion;
• and
• a plurality of reinforcing members disposed within the fill material, each of the plurality of reinforcing members associated with a corresponding facing basket, each of the plurality of reinforcing members comprising an inner end, an outer end, a top surface, and a bottom surface, the outer end of each reinforcing member being adjacent the substantially vertical portion of the corresponding facing basket and above the substantially horizontal portion of the corresponding facing basket;
• backfill material having an inner surface adjacent the inner surface of the reinforced portion;
• and
• an impermeable membrane encapsulating at least a portion of the backfill material, at least a portion of the fill material, and one or more of the reinforcing members;
• wherein the facing baskets and the reinforcing members are positioned in a plurality of layers, with each layer comprising one facing basket and one corresponding reinforcing member;
• wherein the impermeable membrane is positioned to span two or more layers of the plurality of layers;
• and
• wherein at one or more layers of the plurality of layers, a portion of the impermeable membrane is positioned around the outer end of the corresponding reinforcing member.