REGARDING the ongoing debate on dredging the River Severn in You Say. I would like to comment on A J Thompsons letter (You Say, October 24) in which he says that if you remove a bucket of silt the area will be filled with water and the water level will remain the same.

But has he considered that now you have the equivalent of one bucketful of extra water in the river?

This is what we should be trying to achieve. Making the river wider will carry more water without raising the level.

With respect, he is mixing hydrostatics, the study of water at rest with hydraulics, the study of moving water. As an ex-plumber, I've suffered at the hands of both.

A J Thompson is also correct in saying that it could dredge down 100 metres the level would stay the same.

But look how much extra water the River Severn would take without raising the level. That would save us all the harrowing pictures of flooded riverside residents.

A major factor in the amount of water any conduit, for that is what the River Severn is, can carry is its cross sectional area. That is why we use larger diameter pipes to carry larger amounts of water.

Come on Severnsiders, put pressure on the Government, via the Environment Agency to restart dredging the Severn and save us the sight of the Prime Minister's crocodile tears when he revisits the inevitable flooded residents.

It's all down to saving money.

T A JAMES,

Drakes Broughton,

Pershore.