Geograph - photograph every grid square

TQ5100
The floods shown, in the accompanying photos cover much of the River Cuckmere’s flood plain in TQ5100. The annual appearance of such floods is as regular an occurrence as the floods on the River Nile once were in ancient Egypt. While the River Nile’s floods were welcomed by farmers for the fresh and fertile mud they deposited, the floods on the River Cuckmere are generally viewed as an unwelcome inconvenience as they result in a forced change of land use from animal grazing on pasture. As the River Cuckmere is tidal up to Alfriston, any estuarine water from the river will result in salt being added to the fields. It is also true that the land cannot be worked while it is under water and that, at such times, even access to the area is difficult.
Different methods of tackling the floods could have included improving the drainage and maintaining the Victorian flood defences near the mouth of the River Cuckmere. Straightening the course of the river at Exceat, and thereby improving the rate of flow was part of that vision. However, as the contemporary plan is to let nature take its course and not invest in such schemes as maintaining revetments and dredging the mouth of the river, it is almost certain that floods on the River Cuckmere’s flood plain will increase. Other factors including the land sinking, sea level rising, and a changing climate, where more extreme events such as periods of intense rain and storm are likely to occur more frequently, would only exacerbate the situation.
This is a pivotal time for the water meadows of the River Cuckmere and by promoting measures that allow a return to wetlands, it is hoped to create new habitat for plants, animals and birds. Creating new habitat for birds, for example, would be a welcome development at a time when the national decline in the numbers of many species has reached alarming proportions. A coastal and estuarine wetland with access to both saline and fresh water would also be a valuable asset for migrating birds and for birds which are being reintroduced after a period of extinction in Britain such as the avocet.
What are your views on the floods and the changing land use on this part of the River Cuckmere?
Andrew Diack, B.A. (Hons)
TQ5100 : Floods on the River Cuckmere as seen from near the White HorseTQ5100 : Floods on the River Cuckmere as seen from near High and OverTQ5100 : Westward view of floods on the River CuckmereTQ5100 : Land re-emerging after floods on the River CuckmereTQ5100 : Floods in the valley of the River Cuckmere as seen looking southwards from High and Over