Criticism of dredging is wide of the mark - here’s why: Yorkshire Post Letters

IN response to Chris Webb (The Yorkshire Post, March 3), he is wrong to suggest dredging rivers to flush water away quickly is impractical, bad for wildlife and wastes precious resources.

This demonstrates he does not know what dredging riverbeds is for. It removes obstructions to the flow of water and deepens the rivers. You cannot stop the flow of water downhill, as has been demonstrated on many occasions in the last few years.

Flowing water will smash any obstruction in its path. The tides form the coastline of every land on Earth. This is seen very dramatically on the Holderness coast, where erosion is taking place. Planting twigs will only start taking in a large quantity of water in 50 to 100 years’ time when it will be too late.

From: Dave Croucher, Pinfold Gardens, Doncaster.

THE River Don used to be dredged continuously from one end to the other in our area and the banks never topped. I believe it was stopped in 1970 to save money.

I have heard that the European Water Framework Directive, introduced in 2000, now prevents it from being carried out. Now we are out of the EU, can we have some action to protect our properties and lives?

I have been preaching the above message since 2009, I sent it to David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg, Defra, the Environment Agency, Doncaster Council and the mayors of Doncaster. I received numerous letters on House of Commons writing paper acknowledging receipt of my letters, and nothing has been done because they don’t listen to the people.

Bear in mind the public will not keep being fobbed off with lame excuses and false promises.

From: Michael Farman, Willow Grove, Beverley.

East Riding Council has not declared a climate emergency. The science is clear: without drastic action to prevent it, 
global heating will have disastrous consequences across the planet.

The onset is already obvious in many areas of the world. Many here in East Yorkshire are suffering from flooding caused by unprecedented heavy rainfall, and this is just the beginning. Unstopped, runaway global heating will threaten all forms of life on the planet, including people.

So why is our council apparently unconcerned?

If East Riding Council has a climate strategy, surely it is time to publish it, as so many other authorities have done? Otherwise we must assume that they are sleeping, oblivious to the most dangerous threat that mankind has ever had to face?

From: Peter Hyde, Driffield.

I CAN agree with your correspondent Chris Webb on many of his points about flooding, such as having dams and hydro electric stations in the upper parts of rivers, and not building on flood plains.

But, if the banks of lower reaches of river were built up, strengthened and the waterways were dredged, it would help water to flow away quicker and alleviate the flooding on farmland.

It has always puzzled me why building houses was allowed in areas where flooding has taken place in the past.

From: Jane Mitchell, Barkston Ash.

BORIS Johnson appears to be trying to sideline the ongoing misery of communities affected by the devastating flooding in favour of ramping up the hysteria surrounding the spread of the coronavirus (The Yorkshire Post, March 3).

Whilst recognising that common sense measures need implementing to limit contagion, it is apparent that he had no intention of addressing the flooding emergency with similar enthusiasm. It comes across as a cynical exercise in hiding the bad news affecting communities in the badly flooded areas who need government action now to prevent similar disasters recurring.