Letter: Water off course

Regarding land reclamation (Letters, 28 March) George McMillan should be aware that the Netherlands banned landfill in 1995 due to the potential risks of toxic or other unsuitable waste seeping into water supplies and agricultural land, and even before then it generally used sand in its reclamation projects.

The Dutch are also querying how far they should go to counteract the natural ebbs and flows of tides and rivers by dams, dikes and reclamation, considering it may be better to allow most watercourses to follow their natural routes and manage them accordingly. He also refers to the benefits of the reclaimed area west of Dundee which houses the airport and other buildings, and the bonus of protecting our coasts and saving valuable land and property.

But might the flooding in Perth of recent years have been worsened by the channelling of the outgoing river waters and incoming tidal flows into a slightly narrower estuary?

Annette Birkett- Uppenkamp

Horseleys Park

St Andrews