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Valuing the Severn As an International Asset

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Valuing the Severn As an International Asset EnErgy at any pricE Valuing the Severn as an international asset protecting Wildlife for the Future clevedon, eight miles up from the proposed cardiff- Weston barrage. intertidal habitat like this is the basis of the entire Estuary ecosystem, and contributes to other ecosystems in the UK and abroad choose wisely the right tidal power solution must consider – and understand – the Estuary system as a whole. The Wildlife Trusts Wildlife The te vast tidal range of the Severn Now, quite suddenly, the need to reduce our Estuary makes it one of the great greenhouse gas emissions has been natural wonders of the world. It recognised. What remains much less well has unique wildlife habitats recognised is the value of wildlife to people, shaped by the beautiful winding and the urgency to restore our landscapes so Trivers that run down from the Welsh hills to that they are resilient to the impacts of climate meet the sea of the Bristol Channel. change. The great risk is that the debate The Estuary provides a haven for the young becomes one dimensional. This is why it is so of our commercial fish stocks, it is a means of vital that we make the right decision about transport and trade, it is the site of many harnessing the Severn: to capture the power of recreational pursuits and by its very nature it the water without blocking its full flow. In this brings enjoyment to people of all ages. It is all way fish can still move and the tides can still these things and more, and a glance through ebb and flow for miles, creating huge mud flats this report will provide the first-hand accounts and marshes. of what the Estuary means to people who live The Department for Energy and Climate their lives by its tides and nature. Change (DECC) Severn Tidal Power The tidal range also makes it a huge Feasibility Study in 2007 considered five potential source of energy. Proposals to use short-listed options – this report looks at each this potential, and concerns about the possible in turn. The list included three barrages and impacts on the Estuary ecosystem, go back two lagoons which all look to impound decades. So do warnings about the threat of seawater at high tide, letting it out again on the climate change. low tide. The Wildlife Trusts do not support any 2 The Wildlife Trusts’ Severn Estuary report in this report What could happen to the Estuary? pp4/5 What’s at risk? pp6-15 choose wisely How the Estuary works, pp16-19 of these five options, and believe that a Scheme. Now private investors are barrage from Cardiff to Weston would have a considering the options for harnessing the devastating impact. power of the Severn, but the same principles More positively, there were three more still need to apply. innovative options, known as the Severn For decades, successive Governments Embryonic Technologies Scheme (SETS). ignored the pleas of environmentalists to These include a reef, fence and a new kind of address climate change. Now surely they must barrage. None would block the flow of the tide listen to us and ensure the right means of in such a devastating way. They therefore hold harnessing a fantastic resource without losing the most promise for the best technology this wonder of the world. The tidal power options, pp20-21 possible, with the least impact. The Wildlife Stephanie Hilborne Trusts believe they must be researched further. Chief executive, The Wildlife Trusts The Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study concluded in 2009 that there wasn’t a strategic case for public investment in a Severn Tidal We believe more innovative options promise the best technology possible, with the least impact What’s the best way ahead? pp22/23 The Wildlife Trusts’ Severn Estuary report 3 a flock of curlew, fresh in from russia, cross Bridgwater Bay national nature reserve as they wait for rich pickings at low tide What could happen to the Estuary? the second biggest tidal range in the world makes it a strong candidate to supply renewable energy. he idea of harnessing the tidal through turbines to generate electricity. Some Each of these schemes (see p20) comes power of the Severn Estuary is options have the potential to generate energy with different costs, environmental impacts and more than 100 years old, but it on the incoming tide too. energy outputs. Depending on the decisions has never looked closer to The Government also invested in the made, harnessing the Estuary’s tidal energy becoming reality than today. Under Severn Embryonic Technologies Scheme could fundamentally change its ecology, Tpressure to decarbonise energy production, (SETS). The SETS projects are less affecting both people and wildlife. the UK Government considered a shortlist of technically proven, but may create less It’s no exaggeration to say that the Severn five options in 2007. environmental impact. They include a proposal Estuary is an irreplaceable part of the UK’s These were three barrages (the huge for a tidal fence (essentially a line of marine natural heritage. It boasts some of Europe’s Cardiff- Weston; the smaller Shoots Barrage; turbines) and a tidal reef (using the rise and fall finest natural habitats and wildlife, recognised and the even smaller Beachley Barrage) and of the tides to generate power). There’s also a and protected by international, European and two lagoons (Bridgwater Bay and Fleming). new kind of barrage, the Spectral Marine UK laws and agreements. For all five, the basic idea is the same: to build Energy Converter, that uses pillars rather than It’s not just the sheer size of the place which up a head of water at high tide behind a a solid wall, thus allowing the water to flow in makes it unique. Its fast-flowing, silty water retaining wall, and then let out the water and out of the Estuary relatively freely. has, over thousands of years, created an 4 The Wildlife Trusts’ Severn Estuary report David Woodfall David Where are the proposed sites? Wildlife Trust reserve SHORTLIST OptionS 1. Beachley Barrage Wildlife Trust 2. Shoots barrage Living Landscape Scheme 3. Cardiff-Weston barrage SACs, SPAs and Ramsar sites 4. Fleming lagoon (darker blue indicates multiple 5. Bridgwater Bay lagoon designations) SETS SCHEMES Heritage Coast 6. Tidal reef 7. Tidal fence (location a or b) Proposed scheme location 8. SMEC (possibly a or b) n Bristol n Weston-super-Mare ecosystem unlike any other in the UK. Its workings are still only partly understood, (see pages 16-19), but that brown water and sticky n Minehead mud are so productive that birds and fish Exmoor National Park Owen Charlotte migrate thousands of miles to feed there. n Barnstaple The Government’s job is to balance our energy needs against the Estuary’s ecological, recreational, social and cultural value. The The Estuary is heavily protected by UK, affected by construction of a barrage. Much of Wildlife Trusts believe that any development international and European law. There are 228 the Estuary is designated as a Site of Special should respect the intricate natural processes Wildlife Trust nature reserves in the region, Scientific Interest, a Ramsar site (a wetland of which have developed here over millennia. totalling 3,450ha, and 17 Living Landscape international importance), a Special Protection schemes covering 372,700ha, or 1,400 Area and a Special Area of Conservation. square miles. Up to 16 reserves would be The Wildlife Trusts’ Severn Estuary report 5 AT RISK Blocking the Estuary would dramatically alter the way the tides move silt around, leading to unexpected consequences the coast Far from bringing benefits, a tidal barrage is likely to make our coast less resilient against the effects of sea level rise roposals for a barrage across the These arguments are very attractive, but regime distinguishes it from other estuaries Estuary have been accompanied they overlook the lessons arising from relevant and influences the whole ecosystem. by considerable positive spin. The schemes elsewhere. Both the surge-tide Technology that extracts some of this energy Estuary is claimed to have little barrage across the eastern Schelde in The will inevitably affect the way the coast ecological value, and local Netherlands and the tidal power barrage at develops. The main impact will be to reduce Pcommunities have been convinced that there Annapolis Royal in Canada have resulted in sediment supply to the coast and to increase will also be major flood relief benefits. But are foreshore erosion, rather than deposition. sedimentation in the subtidal area. This means these assertions true? Evidence from barrages These examples show how removal of energy that putting any structure in the Estuary will in silty estuaries in The Netherlands and from coastlines has unexpected lead to some degree of erosion. Canada suggests otherwise. consequences. Flood defences are likely to be In the long term this process has important It is argued that reducing tidal flow, and undermined in the long term and waterfowl implications for flood defences and other therefore the amount of sediment in the water, populations can be expected to decline further, coastal structures such as ports, railway lines will lead to increased sediment deposition on as foreshores become less muddy rather than and roads. Far from bringing flood defence foreshores. This deposition, combined with muddier. benefits, tidal energy structures are likely to micro-algae blooming in the clearer water, is The ecology and the shape of the Estuary make our coast less resilient in the face of sea also presented as the solution to feeding are constantly changing due to the complex level rise. displaced waterfowl. interchange of water and sediment.
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