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Could we copy the Dutch

onthehoof

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cambs
Article in this week’s FG about how the Dutch dammed a bay of the North Sea to create Lake IJssel - a freshwater reservoir used to hold floodwater from inland rivers and also used for irrigation during summer, could we not do this here with the Wash, it is perfectly placed near to most of the veg growing land in the country and naturally shaped to make it relatively easy to do as 3 of the sides are already there, plus most of the drainage channels and rivers that cross the Fens flow into it, there is also a massive amount of silt and sand in the Wash that could be dredged to form the barrier.
 

TheTallGuy

Member
Location
Cambridgeshire
An interesting idea, but there's some technical challenges, not least of which is that the Wash is a flood plain - if it is already full of water when a period of excessively wet weather occurs then you've got to get rid of a lot of water very quickly in order to accept the flow from upstream. There's also issues surrounding handling tidal flows/surges which would probably require significant work on the Great Ouse estuary that would impact on the wildlife in the area.
 

onthehoof

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cambs
An interesting idea, but there's some technical challenges, not least of which is that the Wash is a flood plain - if it is already full of water when a period of excessively wet weather occurs then you've got to get rid of a lot of water very quickly in order to accept the flow from upstream. There's also issues surrounding handling tidal flows/surges which would probably require significant work on the Great Ouse estuary that would impact on the wildlife in the area.
So the Dutch can do it but we can’t??
 

roscoe erf

Member
Livestock Farmer
Article in this week’s FG about how the Dutch dammed a bay of the North Sea to create Lake IJssel - a freshwater reservoir used to hold floodwater from inland rivers and also used for irrigation during summer, could we not do this here with the Wash, it is perfectly placed near to most of the veg growing land in the country and naturally shaped to make it relatively easy to do as 3 of the sides are already there, plus most of the drainage channels and rivers that cross the Fens flow into it, there is also a massive amount of silt and sand in the Wash that could be dredged to form the barrier.
no we couldn't we'd have to get the dutch to do it like they did the fens drainage
 

Badshot

Member
Innovate UK
Location
Kent
The Dutch can do it because they've reclaimed huge areas of land back from the sea by draining and using deck off great big pumps to keep it dry.
They want the land in production, unlike this ruddy country.

Yes we could do it, could do anything, but we won't be allowed b cause it'll damage something environmental for sure.
 

TheTallGuy

Member
Location
Cambridgeshire
So the Dutch can do it but we can’t??
I'm not saying that we can't, but it's quite a complex matter - every change we make will have significant knock on effects. Simply damming up either the Ouse Washes or the wider Washes from Hunstanton across to Gibraltar Point will have an adverse effect on wildlife across a wide area including the Washes National Nature Reserve.
 

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Webinar: Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer 2024 -26th Sept

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On Thursday 26th September, we’re holding a webinar for farmers to go through the guidance, actions and detail for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer. This was planned for end of May, but had to be delayed due to the general election. We apologise about that.

Farming and Countryside Programme Director, Janet Hughes will be joined by policy leads working on SFI, and colleagues from the Rural Payment Agency and Catchment Sensitive Farming.

This webinar will be...
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