Environmental Agency: The Risks Of A Letter To The Bridge

Submitted By Jade-Danielle
Words: 595
Pages: 3

24 Fox Lane
Sunningdale
Sheffield
SH14 8NC
Saturday 2nd March 2013
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you to inform you of an issue that we here at the Environmental Agency believe to be one of great importance. The local river, the River Koi, is at great risk of flooding. If it were to flood, which is likely, great consequences and concerns will arise. Hopefully I can outline and explain some of the methods that we can use to try and deal with these happenings in advance. If you are to go through with any of the ideas, your actions will later prove to be worthwhile, as it will certainly prevent any extra damage being done to the environment or the people surrounding the river.
There are two routes that we could take when it comes to dealing with the issue of flooding; hard engineering or soft engineering. Hard options tend to be more expensive and have a greater impact on the river and the surrounding landscape whereas soft options are more ecologically sensitive.
Some other advantages of soft engineering compared to hard engineering include: It makes use of ecological features by using living structures for construction, meaning that it will not harm the wildlife, and instead it will protect it. It’s also cheaper to construct compared to hard engineering, as it makes use of what is already available in the natural world. It requires less long-term maintenance costs due to the fact that the living structures used mature and stabilize over time by themselves. Finally, it also improves ecological features and provides opportunities for recreational activities such as fishing.

However, a disadvantage of soft engineering as compared to hard engineering is that it restricts most forms of urban development, for example housing development. Due to the fact it makes use of living structures, the soft engineered features often cannot support hard structures, unlike hard engineering.
Personally I believe that aesthetics and the general landscape of an area are very important. People aren’t going to want to live in an area that isn’t necessarily appealing – and for that reason I think that hard engineering is not the way forward for this matter. I’d recommend steering away from embankments simply because they make the area