Small estuary, big port – progress in the management of the Stour-Orwell Estuary system

Management of port development is increasingly challenging because of the competitive requirement for deeper channels and because of the need to preserve important coastal wetlands which function as both habitat and flood defence. This paper describes the management of the Stour/Orwell Estuary system, Eastern England, an estuary system which has experienced considerable development and morphological change. The estuary is internationally important for its wetland bird populations and the intertidal areas of the estuary system are protected under European legislation. It is also the location of the Port of Felixstowe. In 1998/2000 the approach channel to the Port of Felixstowe was deepened from −12.5 mCD to −14.5 mCD. This paper describes the effects of the approach channel deepening, the approach taken to identifying the potential impact to intertidal habitat resulting from the deepening, the sediment recycling implemented as mitigation to prevent increased loss of habitat and the subsequent response of the estuary system to this intervention.