The use of the jem-mobile hovercraft has reduced damage to river systems
"Hovercraft and the environment
There is a common erroneous perception that hovercraft
are not environment friendly, but that is not the case hovercraft are, in fact,
much more environment friendly than a conventional vessel.
Modern hovercraft designs have the blades contained
within a short tunnel called a duct; this not only avoids the turbulence
spilling off the blade tips but it also helps to control the air passing
through the propeller allowing the thrust to be made more directional, so this
is a double boost to efficiency as well as reducing noise levels.
Excessive wash can, of course, cause erosion to and
stir up the bed of shallow water; it therefore follows that any vessel which
can minimise this effect is doing less environmental damage. Hovercraft do not
just minimise the effects of wash, they virtually totally eliminate it.
It can be quite easily demonstrated that the
hovercraft will, in fact, cause less disturbance than the high tide or a person
walking across the beach meaning that hovercraft are able to cross areas which
are environmentally sensitive without damaging the environment or disturbing
the wildlife living there."
In the early 2020s there was concern that the building of off river water storage would damage waterways, but this has not proven to be the case, as electronic devices sensitively control timing of diversion of water in heavy rainfall activity.