A vital lifeline for a proud former capital fallen on hard times or a potential environmental disaster? Views on the dredging of Town Cut are as wide as the channel itself, Tim Smith discovered as he visited St. George's North with Up Your Street.

A fiery exchange between two old friends showed just how much of an emotional topic Town Cut has become in St. George's.

"All this talk about how the city's going to get flooded if you open up Town Cut is absolute nonsense," one man said as The Royal Gazette visited St. George's Dinghy and Sports Club on Cut Road.

But just as that resident was explaining the desperate need for bigger cruise ships to breathe new life into the Olde Towne, fisherman Jason Payne joined the conversation to point out widening Town Cut is not an open-and-shut case.

"If they open it up you are going to get a lot more water surge down here. That's common sense," argued Mr. Payne.

"That's nonsense," replied the first man, a food importer whose business relies on trade with local restaurants, which are in dire need of an influx of tourists.

"Sure, in a hurricane we will get a bit of extra tide, but you'll have problems anyway with a hurricane. You've got to open it up and bring some life back to this community."

Mr. Payne hit back: "Just say there's a 0.5 percent chance that I'm right. Once that's open, how are you going to change it back? They can't afford to fix it if it goes wrong."

"Yes they could, of course they could fix it," responded the food importer. "You've got to try something, this town is dying. Have you looked around? Where have all the people gone?"

And with that he drove off, leaving Mr. Payne shaking his head at the long-running argument which locals say could be brought to an end if only a thorough study was done on the subject.

Currently only small cruise ships can squeeze through Town Cut, with many people calling for it to be dredged, widened or straightened to create room for larger vessels.

"It's OK to bring a ship in, but what are going to be the ecological effects of it?" Mr. Payne told this newspaper.

"I'm all for bringing more people to St. George's, but we are competing with a lot of stiff competition in the Caribbean now, and in order to make it worthwhile we would need a 20-year contract with a cruise company."

Such a project would lead to huge amounts of pollution, including sewage, from large cruise ships, said Mr. Payne.

"Some of the guys round here just want more money. But I would have to say a good study has to be done," he said.

"There can be a meeting in the middle. I'm all for it if they can keep the waste and environmental impact to a minimum."

Abdul Amjath, owner of Polaris restaurant on Cut Road, was in favour of widening the cut.

"Opening the cut is not going to bring that much of a difference to the environment," he said. "But once they open it up there's a way in for the cruise ships because at the moment St. George's is dead.

"Open it up and then see. Once you get the cruise ships in, the tourists are going to come."

Area MP Dame Jennifer Smith, a former Premier who used to go fishing in the Town Cut water as a youngster, said nearby homes would be exposed to any rise in sea level.

Dame Jennifer referred to the lack of reef protection in the area, telling this newspaper: "This is where we are vulnerable. People talking about doing things to Town Cut channel without taking into account the impact of that are really not being realistic."

Bermuda National Trust warned of environmental risk of channel dredging or widening in a report on cruise ships and sustainability in 2006.

"In all evaluations, it will be important to determine the direct and indirect incremental damage from post-Panamax ships, larger Panamax ships, and the smaller cruise ships currently responsible for transporting most of Bermuda's cruise passengers," stated the report.

"Dredging and infilling for new jetties, harbours or other infrastructures can easily reduce an ecosystem's bio-economic value, and also foreclose future resource-use options."

The report stated impacts of dredging and land reclamation include:

• damage to coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds, which may be important spawning grounds and/or nursery grounds;

• damage to the substrate on which fish live;

• removal or alteration of the benthos, which form the main source of food for many commercial fish species;

• increased turbidity, irritating or clogging fish gills, interfering with visual feeding and photosynthesis;

• increase in siltation, alteration of the character of sediments in and round spawning grounds and interference with egg development;

• potential loss or damage to fishing gears;

• erosion of value of properties fronting the coast and sometimes limited public access to shore.

Next week's Up Your Street is in Pembroke West. Residents of that constituency who would like to comment should e-mail tsmith@royalgazette.bm