25/11/2025
Yesterday I met with the County Councillors from St Clears. There were discussions on our flood areas, pinch points and ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
The County Council are planning to undertake a ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ญ๐ต which involves hydrology experts. They will want to meet local people who flooded and map problem areas. After the 1986 floods there were flood defences created for Whitland. In 1996 the new by pass had attenuation ponds and culverts with shutters to control water flow and pollutants built into the construction. A large part of the town did not flood this time as a result of these defences.
Remembering the time the water entered your home and from which direction will be of help to the hydrologists. For some I have visited it has been front, back, from the neighbours side and even from under the floor.
I will leave it to the experts to come up with flood mitigation schemes. These will involve other areas. A pinch point in St Clears may impact Whitland. Fast flow through Login, for example, may impact Henllanfallteg and then Whitland. As for Dredging this overview might be of interest
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด can help in some situations, but it is not a reliable or long-term solution on its own. Flood experts and agencies often describe it as something that may help locally, but with clear limits.
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ
โช๏ธIt increases the depth of a channel, so more water can pass through a narrow pinch point.
โช๏ธIt may reduce flooding right next to the dredged section, especially where a river has become silted up.
โช๏ธIt can help improve flow where bridges or culverts slow the river.
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต
โช๏ธIn very heavy rainfall, the volume of water is far greater than what dredging can handle. A river can fill to capacity again within hours.
โช๏ธDredging one stretch does nothing if downstream bottlenecks remain.
โช๏ธIt can sometimes increase flow speed, pushing floodwater into towns downstream faster.
โช๏ธIt often needs repeated work โ silt returns quickly.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ
Modern flood strategies mix several tools:
โช๏ธNatural flood management (slowing flow upstream, planting, wetlands).
โช๏ธMaintaining culverts and drains.
โช๏ธFlood storage areas that hold water temporarily.
โช๏ธDefences such as walls or embankments in built-up areas.
โช๏ธPlanning rules to avoid building on floodplains.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
Dredging is not useless โ it can help a bit in the right place โ but it is rarely the main answer. Most agencies view it as one tool among many, not a cure for large-scale flooding.
The ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ณ is a classic West Wales catchment: steep-sided upper valleys, fast run-off in heavy rain, and narrow channels running through small towns like Whitland, St Clears and Laugharne. Those features make dredging only partially useful.
Hereโs how dredging affects a river like the ๐ง๐ฎ๐ณ:
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ณ
โช๏ธAt tight choke points โ for example, where bridges or culverts restrict the flow. Deepening or clearing those sections can stop water backing up locally.
โช๏ธWhere silt builds up naturally โ tidal sections near St Clears and Laugharne can accumulate sand and silt; removing it may improve flow during moderate floods.
โช๏ธShort-term reduction in localised overflow โ immediately adjacent properties may see some benefit.
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ณ
1. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ณ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฑ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ฎ๐น๐น
Heavy rainfall from the Preseli, Llanfihangel, Llangynin and Crymych areas creates a huge surge of water. No amount of dredging can create enough extra capacity to contain that surge โ the volume is simply too large.
2. ๐๐ฎ๐๐-๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐น๐
The Taf carries a lot of sediment. Even after dredging, the river will naturally re-deposit gravel and silt, often within a year or two, especially around bends.
3. ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป
If the lower Taf near St Clears is still a bottleneck (tidal influence, narrow bridges), dredging upstream doesnโt solve the problem โ the water just hits the next obstacle.
4. ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ
Dredging increases flow speed. In a river like the Taf, this can push floodwater into downstream settlements more quickly.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ณ
Flood specialists usually look at a combination of measures:
โช๏ธUpstream flow management
Blocking gullies, restoring wetlands and slowing run-off in the upper catchment can make a big difference.
โช๏ธMaintenance of culverts and drains
Many flood events in West Wales are worsened by blocked culverts rather than the main channel itself.
โช๏ธFloodplain storage areas
Temporary holding areas upstream of towns can absorb peak flows during storm events.
โช๏ธBetter forecasting and warning systems
Especially important in fast-responding catchments like the Taf
๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐น
For the River Taf, dredging might offer small, very local improvements, but it cannot prevent major flooding caused by extreme rainfall and fast run-off. Most of the flood risk comes from the sheer volume and speed of water coming down the catchment, not from lack of channel depth.
๐ง๐ผ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฝ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐.
