Dredging plea as Wharfe floods again – Yorkshire Post Letters

I READ with interest the article by Oliver Harmar, Yorkshire area director of the Environment Agency, and in particular his comments about solving the problem from source to sea (The Yorkshire Post, November 6).

In the early hours of Monday, November 2, our home, along with three other cottages, the Bluebell Inn and the Racehorses Hotel, were flooded as a consequence of the river Wharfe bursting its banks yet again.

In the grand scheme of things I suppose this is pretty small ‘fry’, but the annoying aspect is this could so easily have been avoided.

We residents believe that the cause of the problem is an island in the river which, when I arrived 20 years ago, was quite small.

It has grown in size beyond all recognition and the bed of the river as a consequence on the road side is littered with large piles of rubble and rocks. When there is heavy rain, the water flow is restricted and it floods onto the road.

Ironically last spring, after the heavy rains, the Environment Agency carried out a survey and this was pointed out, but nothing has happened.

Before global warming gets thrown in as a factor as to our plight, remember that the only reason why it is so green in the Dales is because it rains a lot.

Look at an Ordnance Survey map of the area and you will see the Valley of Desolation where, in 1826, a great storm washed away much of the valley. So extremes of weather were not unknown long before global warming was wheeled out as the reason for every misdemeanour.

We aren’t asking for flood defences – merely that the debris is dredged out and the island reduced somewhat in size. Now this may well impact on the habitat of the water vole but, just for once, we would like to be taken into consideration.

In conclusion might I add that our plight would be much worse without the help given to us by our friends and neighbours.

Our own insurers have reacted swiftly and in a totally professional manner. Finally, at times like this, there is often an outcry that politicians and government officials should be on site to deal with the matter.

Trust me the last thing we needed were such platitudes, or even worse, Opposition politicians on hand bleating that more money should be spent.

Our biggest concern is that the same flooding could occur the next time there is heavy rain.

From: Keith Walker, Ogden Lane, Denholme.

IN the past month or so there has been much said about caring for, and the reintroduction of wildlife, in the Yorkshire area.

Peter Hyde, from Driffield, (The Yorkshire Post, November 7) commented on BBC Autumnwatch of ‘too much talk’ and not enough wildlife.

I think we need to do more talking – talk about the state of our rivers, on which the majority of our wildlife depends.

It’s all well and good reintroducing species from times past, they need a habitat that will sustain them. Good microorganisms are the start of the food chain in our rivers on which larvae and stonefly etc that are consumed by fish and bird life.

They, in turn, become part of the food chain for the reintroduced wildlife. The only problem here is that the good microorganisms and larvae are being slaughtered in their millions by pollution.

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