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Navigating
troubled waters
Pollution,
erosion and deterioration
Traditional two-week boating holidays have all but disappeared,
leaving the boat hire industry increasingly dependent on short
breaks. For the conservationists and private boat owners this
has caused problems.
In a weekend, people don't go very far in the waterways and
tend to concentrate in areas, clogging waterways, causing
damage to riverbanks and creating noise. But these problems
are not new, and reflect those of the past. Since the heyday
of holidays in the Broads, the boats have caused pollution
and their wash has added to the erosion of the riverbanks.
As the banks have been washed away, the loose material has
been collecting at the bottom of the Broads, filling them
up. This has also led to poor water quality and tricky navigation
in the Broads.
However, according to the Broads Authority,
the dominant influences over water quality have been the phosphates
in sewage from land-based habitation and the nitrate runoff
from agriculture. Much effort has been expended in recent
years in dredging pollutants from the Broads and river beds
and enhancing phosphate scrubbing from treatment works. Greater
care in agriculture has led to control over nitrates as well.
Modern motor boats do not cause pollution on any appreciable
scale, boat movements are less these days in the Broads due
to the hire craft fleets being run down and Broads water quality
is better than for many years leading to problems of excessive
weed growth in places.
The industry is working towards cleaning up their act. "We've
been lowering the environmental impacts of our boats for about
10-15 years and have low-wash, and nearly no-wash hulls on
our boats." Len Funnel of the Funnel Group explains.
"Though there is little money in the boat industry, so
investment into boat yards is happening gradually."
Eco-friendly
boats
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| An electric
cruiser. |
On a recent trip to Holland, local boatyard
owner, Robert Paul was very impressed. "They are doing
radical things. They understand the pull and enjoyment of
nature, and are using electric boats. Why can't the Broads
Authority just ban diesel engines on the Broads in the next
ten years?"
The Broads Authority is encouraging electric boat technology.
It has introduced quieter and non-polluting electric boats
onto the Broads, they are not yet widely available for hire.
And there is also a toll incentive, where electric boats pay
25 per cent less than motor boats.
"Let's not assume that electric boats are the panacea,
batteries are very heavy and don't last long. We just need
patience," explained Mike Evans, of the Norfolk and Suffolk
Yachting Association.
"The technology exists and is being developed by the
car companies. There's no point in making it happen before
then."
The
Norfolk Tourism Management Partnership
Planning in the Broads
Map
The
Future of Farming - EDP24 Special
Report
Climate
change in Norfolk
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