Cumberland Basin and Scouring

Note for those unfamiliar with Bristol: Cumberland Basin is the bit of the Bristol harbour system that sits between the Floating Harbour (where the historical docks are/were) and the tidal River Avon that heads out under Clifton Suspension Bridge and into the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth (where the modern docks are). This is not the same Avon as Stratford-upon-Avon - that joins the Severn at Tewkesbury. Cumberland Basin normally looks like this. A few weeks ago someone at work mentioned that Cumberland Basin was empty, which sounded unusual so I quickly googled to see what was going on - and apparently it's something that happens quite regularly, with a schedule published on the harbourmaster's website.It's all part of the process to stop the Floating Harbour from getting silted up - they let the Cumberland Basin empty with the tide and then open sluice gates to allow water from the Floating Harbour out, which takes silt with it. The process is called "scouring". Given...
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