11 December 2011 Last updated at 07:47 ET

Norfolk and Suffolk Broads given EU dredging research funds

The project on the Broads in Norfolk and Suffolk is expected to last until 2014

The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads is to be given an £800,000 grant to help find new ways of removing sediment in the waterways.

The EU money will fund research into new methods of dredging sediment and reusing it, overcoming the need to find disposal sites.

The Broads Authority said the money would also help fund an extension to the sediment island at Duck Broad.

The project is expected to run until 2014.

Dredging often takes place in rivers used by boats to keep them navigable.

"One of the techniques we want to explore is the use of equipment to remove water from the material dredged from the Broads, so that we have less to dispose of," said John Packman, the Broads Authority's chief executive.