The use of Formal Terms
Terms used in my templates and much information is taken from publications and documents produced by the Army Corp of Engineers. Other source are Pile Buck Magazine and various similar publications, from contractors who build these structures, and from inspectors in various areas who are familiar with their contruction ad modes of failure.
Local (colloquial) terms for these structures vary. In Florida, where many of these structures exist, bulkheads are all called "seawalls". For legal/liability reasons, my templates use the more formal terms used by the Army Corp of Engineers, and by marine architects and engineers. If an inspector should need to defend their report in court, an opposing attorney might easily imply that because an inspector used colloquial terms, they had inadequate inspection training and knowledge of these structures. I suggest that you use these more formal terms in your reports and explain verbally to your clients the reasoning behind this.
Reference Sources
1. Design of Seawalls, Bulkheads, and Revetments (Army Corp of Engineers)
2. Design of Coastal Revetments, Seawalls and Bulkheads (Army Corp of Engineers)
Sheet Pile Design by Pile Buck. PDF (result page, select the PDF of this title)