ENVIRONMENTAL groups have launched a campaign to protect the Severn Estuary’s ecosystems from the effects of water intakes for the under-construction Hinkley Point C (HPC) nuclear power station.

They are calling for signatures to a petition urging the Government to hold EDF accountable and protect the estuary, which is home to one of the UK’s most important nature conservation sites.

HPC is set to extract the equivalent of three Olympic swimming pools of cooling water per minute from the estuary, an internationally protected habitat.

The intake pipes have a cross-section the size of six double-decker buses and EDF is currently required to fit them with an acoustic fish deterrent (AFD) to prevent millions of fish being drawn into the system.

But EDF has not yet installed the AFDs and has instead proposed what campaigners say is an ‘inadequate compensation package’ including creating saltmarsh environments and fish passage improvements.

Bristol Avon Rivers Trust chief executive Simon Hunter said: “The Severn Estuary is an irreplaceable ecosystem, and EDF must meet its obligations to protect it.

“We are not against the power station providing vital energy for the UK, but it must not come at the cost of biodiversity and the health of our rivers and estuaries.”

The Rivers Trust chief executive Mark Lloyd said: “It is very disappointing that the Prime Minister was so disparaging and dismissive about the need for acoustic fish deterrents on the water intakes for the new nuclear power station being built at Hinkley by EDF.

“As the Severn Estuary is a vital fish nursery for the whole region, the strategic and economic impacts on marine fisheries throughout the Irish Sea will be devastating.

“All the good work being carried out by the Bristol Avon Rivers Trust to nurture recovering fish populations in the river could be undone if EDF, and planning regulators, do not do the right thing.”

Both trusts have supported the petition, along with a coalition of leading organisations including the Angling Trust, Atlantic Salmon Trust, and Wildlife and Countryside Link.

A spokesperson for EDF told the Free Press: “Hinkley Point C has already designed and built significant environmental protections, and its clean power will make a major impact in the fight against climate change.

“It is the first power station in the Severn to have fish protection measures in place, with a specially designed low velocity cooling water intake and a fish return system.

“However, the current lengthy process to identify and implement acceptable compensation for a small remaining assessed impact on fish has the potential to delay the operation of the power station.

“That process remains in place for Hinkley Point C and the project is working with local communities and stakeholders to find solutions that work for both communities and the environment.

“We are also reviewing the potential of any emerging technologies to see if they could help us further protect fish without risking the lives of divers in the dangerous waters of the Severn Estuary.”