I've not yet written about the proposed Severn barrage on this blog - which is a bit odd as it's a big issue and an important subject and we have been very involved in these discussions for years.
I grew up in Bristol and much of my early birdwatching was done at sites such as Frampton-on-Severn, Slimbridge, Aust, Avonmouth, Portbury, Sand Point and Sand Bay, Brean Down, Berrow, Huntspill and Stert on the English side of this estuary. Those were the first places I saw large flocks of wintering waders and began to learn how to identify godwits, curlews and a range of sandpipers and plovers.
The Severn is an amazing estuary - great for wildlife (very important for migratory fish such as salmon, eels and lampreys) but also an amazing geographical phenomenon.
With a 14m tidal reach, one of the largest in the world, there is no doubt that we should be looking at ways to harness the tidal energy provided by the Severn. A barrage is one option, but there are many others. But for any project which would cost billions of pounds to complete, at a time when money is tight, we have to be very sure that any money spent will deliver big benefits and not cause great damage.
One of the ways to judge the impact of a barrage is to look at what has happened elsewhere.
Today we are releasing an official Dutch report which documents the harm done by building a storm-surge barrage across the Oosterschelde estuary in the late 1980s. The UK government has known about this report since 2008 and yet the lessons from the Schelde have not, as far as we can tell, been taken on board in the UK.
The Dutch report found that building the barrier (which is probably in some ways less damaging than a barrage) led to loss of tidal mudflats and saltmarshes harming the wildlife of the area, damaging shellfish fisheries, reducing tourism and creating a need for massive extra investment in flood defence measures. Many would say that the Dutch experience shows how bad such a project can be. The Dutch, arguably, had to do something to reduce the risk of catastrophic flooding - we aren't in a remotely similar position.
The Oosterschelde is very similar to the Severn estuary, though smaller, and is being damaged beyond repair - something our Government seems to have known since 2008. We know that the Government has produced its own report on how a barrage would affect the tides and sediments of the Severn. The big questions now are what does that report say? and when can we all see it?
Mark, like you I grew up on the banks of the Severn although it was on slightly foreign side at Lydney in the Forest of Dean. The birdlife is amazing and the geography of the tidal mudflats is impressive even the fishing with a bean pole, string and a worm for eels was good fun (although now probably illegal). I presume the barrage would mean the end of the Severn bore, which should be seen by everyone at least once.
I didn't realise that the report had been produced. Do we know why it hasn't yet been made public. Bob
Hi Mark seems to me all part of trying to find economic renewable energy and no one seems to find a solution as wind turbines must be uneconomic if they had to stand on there own without massive subsidy and of course when needed most they usually stop working.Unfortunately all the time we are getting closer to where we will even have electric cuts because nobody can decide what to do and of course in the real world wind turbines produce very,very small amounts of power from very large numbers.
Strange nobody can decide what to do when seems they decided to invade Iraq in about 45 minutes.
The key thing here is that the barrage and harnessing tidal energy are not one and the same thing: as you say, there are many other ideas and technologies - but often in an early state of development and possibly more expensive/ kw, at least at the moment. But it will take 15 years to build the barrage - how much will technology progress by then ? Enough I'm convinced to make it a huge white elephant the day the tape is cut. And we have to get away from 'maximising' a single output - in this case tidal power - at the expense of everything else, and try and optimise all the benefits - otherwise green energy is going to do as much environmental damage as the un-green industries of the past.