Dear Sir
We have been aware for some time that maintenance dredging of Sovereign Harbour appears to have reduced the amount of sand in the intertidal zone of Pevensey Bay.
In order to slow, or indeed reverse this trend, we have been re-using sand dredged from the harbour by placing it on or below the mean low water mark (MLW) close to the sailing club. This was first started in 2006. All work is, and has been, fully licensed by the MMO and The Crown Estate. Works undertaken last month re-used 32,000m 3 of sand, in which it appears a very small amount of silt was present. The inshore seabed between Sovereign Harbour and the sailing club is all classified as “silty sand”, so it is inevitable that there will be some silt present. This silt is the same material that naturally occurs around the bay, settling into glutinous pools during calm weather, not an alien substance. Re-used sand was less than half the total removed, the remainder being silt deposited 2.5km offshore. Bathymetric surveys taken before and after the works showed that the maximum rise in the seabed was 0.4m. Our own monitoring of the beach shows that sand levels regularly vary by at least 1.0m due to natural processes.
Re-use of sand from Sovereign Harbour has been mentioned several times in my articles published in the Parish Pump, most recently in summer 2013 and summer 2015. These were delivered free to every household within the Parish. The offer to supply additional information that ends each article, applies as much to this topic as any other sea defence issue.
Yours
Ian Thomas
Project Manager
Pevensey Coastal Defence Ltd
Environment Agency Depot
Coast Road
Pevensey Bay
This response was offered to the following letter from a concerned resident in Pevensey Bay
LETTERS TO EDITOR: Holiday makers, shrimpers & especially children should be made aware of the new danger in what was a safe beach
