At the very least, even if contracted,  it can provide important advantages to homeowners.

It's modular, so you can phase in the work as you have money.

It involves MUCH smaller equipment, any payloader can do it, so your landscape won't be trashed out as much, or hardly at all, by giant excavators and semi-trucks doing loop to loops on the front lawn, crushing your driveway, etc.

It can be done by very unskilled labor, allowing contractors to agressively price the work, and maybe, even save a buck.

I'm betting someone is wondering, DIY flood barriers??

I've highlighted rock baskets and blankets because it IS A FEASIBLY DIY PROJECT.  I didn't say easy, or fast, just feasible. 

Why on earth take on the task of moving cubic yards of rock? 

Simple.

You have no money.

I've little enough, and I'm well off compared to half the country, I well know that when the money isn't there, it just isn't there.

It's good exercise too and the whole family can join in!

I'd have to suggest the rock blanket as the better of the two methods to DIY. 

1. It takes less rock, as it's "only" a foot or so thick
2. It will respond more to careful construction, which as  DIY'er you can lavish on it,  creating a better than "perfect" installation, while a GC might cut corners, and not even give you a standard installation
3. It allows over planting / through planting somewhat easier than baskets, creating a nicer appearance.
4. There's no sharp drop off.
5. Great when space is tight between you and the water.  If you aren't fighting a yearly problem, and you shouldn't, you should move if you flood yearly, you can run them right up to the building, hiding below grade. 

Alternatively, if you're in the chainsaw crowd, know something about cutting down a tree, and NOT GETTING HURT, another DIY idea that might work relatively easily would be combining fence and logs into a retaining wall, the fencing anchoring the logs, the logs holding in the rock.  It's got the advantage of little fabrication, and simple fabrication at that.

Roll wiring isn't horribly expensive, 2 x 4 inch mesh I think it is, vinyl coated lasts longer and exposed bits will look better, but it costs more.  Get what you can afford.  You might be able to scavange fending too.  Warning, chain link type fencing won't work well, especially for DIY'rs, it stretches.  No idea how to deal with that. 

Baskets about a yard on a side should retail for around $25 to $30 each.  For very heavily constructed knocked down wire mesh.

You might even consider building them yourself, especialy the blanket, as again, being only a foot deep, and having lots of soil contact, it's unlikely to require much "engineering" to keep it in place, safe from collapse, etc..  If you build the baskets yourself, figure using the heaviest vinyl coated fencing you can (non-flexible - ie no chain link), epoxy coated rebar to knit the cage sections together, etc..