Work began in October on a £2.5 million ($3.3 million) project to reuse sediment from Harwich Haven Authority’s maintenance dredging to recharge the foreshore of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England.
Sand and gravel from routine maintenance of the Harwich Haven approach channels and port berths will be placed at Cobmarsh Island, off West Mersea, and at Old Hall Point, near Tollesbury.
The material would otherwise be disposed of at sea. It is intended to reduce erosion, support flood protection and create nesting habitat for little tern, common tern, ringed plover and oystercatcher.
The beneficial use of dredged sediment (BUDS) in the Blackwater Estuary project is a partnership between the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Harwich Haven Authority, Essex Wildlife Trust and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
Funding comes through the Environment Agency’s natural flood management programme and the ZSL-led “transforming the Thames” project.
