Ribble in flood in Penwortham

Here's a picture taken on March 28th 2006 of the Ribble in Penwortham, breaking its banks after heavy rain. If a barrage is built, the River level will be permanently higher instead of its current tidal changes, the silts will progressively reduce the volume of the River bed thus reducing the capacity of the River and it's ability to deal with rainfall run-off. Rainfall run-off will also increase if they build the thousands of new houses on this floodplain, and a permanently high river level will cause groundwater to rise beneath both new and existing homes.