I read your article 'Turning the tides' (Feature, 19 June) with interest, but the Severn Tidal Power Group is overlooking one major problem.
When the tidal flow is reduced by the barrage, sediment - from the tributaries and the incoming tidal water - which is normally kept in suspension will settle. Within a few years the silting of the region above the barrage will soon become evident.
In the upper region of the river Blackwater on the east coast this is proving a major problem. There isn't a barrage, but the reduced flow due to extraction for the local reservoir has caused the same result - siltation.
Winter flood waters do create high flow rates, but this is concentrated in the main channel and does not have any significant effect on moving the silt.
Because of this, funding is being sought for a programme of regular dredging. On the
Andy Nichols
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The Engineer
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