Sir – Roy Partridge tries to make sense of the flooding problem, describing the silting up of the Thames and the apparent need to dredge it (Letters, May 15). Flooding markedly increases the silt load in the river.
The source of the silt is the soil, which is eroded from farmers’ fields. This erosion is exacerbated by the ploughing up of meadows, which as well as polluting them with agrochemicals, leaves the soil bare and easily washed away.
To reduce the flooding and silt problem, meadows and floodplains have to be protected from arable agriculture and allowed to hold flood water until it drains away slowly.
Thus the land management of all our river catchments needs to be amended to allow effective soil and water conservation. Only then can flooding be controlled and cut-off channels become unnecessary.
The Government, through Defra, must act urgently to bring these measures into effect, probably by statute, because climate change is making flooding more likely.
Please would your readers consider signing the petition to the Prime Minister on this subject, now being prepared by the Flooding and Climate Change Alliance, when it reaches our local organisations in the community.
David Eldridge, Berinsfield
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