Flood risk
The Sea Link converter station is being built on land that’s prone to flooding.
A Site Prone to Flooding
The chosen location is in Flood Zone 2, an area at high risk of flooding (as you can see by the photo of the marshes on this page.) Experts have confirmed that heavy rain can cause water to pool up across the site.
Why? The land is flat and low-lying, sitting just 1 m above sea level, and it’s surrounded by two tidal rivers—the River Stour, only 300 m to the southwest, and adjacent to the Minster Stream. The River Stour rises and falls with the tides, increasing the flood risk even more. On top of that, the ground is made of heavy clay that doesn’t let water drain away—it acts like a sponge, soaking up water until it can’t hold any more, leaving nowhere for rainwater to go but to flood the surface.
Beyond the Station: Risks to Cables and Power Lines
It’s not just the converter station at risk. The cables and power lines that will connect the station to the grid stretch across even more vulnerable areas. The cable route, heading 2 km east to Pegwell Bay, passes through Flood Zone 3 near Stonelees Golf Course, where flooding can be even deeper during storms or high tides. The power lines, running 2.25 km southwest towards Richborough, also cross Flood Zone 3 near the River Stour. If these areas flood, the cables and power line bases could be damaged, potentially disrupting the energy supply for the whole region. Building critical infrastructure in such high-risk flood zones is a gamble.
What This Means
The flooding risks don’t stop at the site—they affect all the water courses. National Grid’s recent plans to raise the station by 2 m to keep it above flood levels, add more complexity to the project. How will the site drain? The water that would have flooded the site will still need somewhere to go, potentially increasing flood risks nearby. With bouts of increased heavy rain nfall and high tide storm surges more frequent, this site could become a liability.
This site’s flooding risks are a clear warning: it’s the wrong place for such an important project.
Climate Projections: See map on this page by climate central showing converter location flooded in future sea level rise scenarios.
This document covers the surveys used to determine flood potential and other hazards of the converter site submitted to the planning inspectorate: