No experience with any bamboo except to note that there is a stand of some kind near my wife's church that would appear to require removal by back hoe if we want to get rid of it. I have a fake pond and stream. I am a big fan of 'sweet flag'. It loves running water and grows in damp or shallow water and divides like crazy. It is only 1.5 feet tall, so it would be a completely different solution but it should stop erosion just fine with minimal efforts.

I might be interested in alternatives to bamboo, too, but the bank is about 4' from normal water level to the top. I imagine the lowest part stays damp, but most of the bank probably dries out during dry spells about like any other location. What I'm really looking for is protection from the rare high water events when the normal trickle turns into a roar. The interlocking structure of bamboo rhizomes seems especially attractive, but I don't really know what works and what doesn't.

I've always been told that nothing has deeper roots than large clumping grasses. For bank stabilization you want lots of deep roots rather than a matted tangle on the surface.