Man-made sea defenses include a sea wall at Burnham-on-Sea and a section south from Brean Down. There are also sand dune belts which are managed for their protective function and as a wildlife habitat. There are some concerns that the proposed Severn Barrage could leave some sites high and dry, and others permanently under water. The Steart Peninsula has flooded many times during the last millennium. The most severe recent floods occurred in 1981. By 1997, a combination of coastal erosion, sea level rise and wave action had made some of the defences distinctly fragile and at risk from failure. As a result, in 2002 The Environment Agency produced the Stolford to Combwich Coastal Defence Strategy Study to examine options for the future.