Somerset Council's Executive Committee has reaffirmed its commitment to improving flood defences along two sections of the River Tone in Taunton. The council is working with the Environment Agency on a £6 million project to help protect homes and businesses in Taunton from flooding. More design work will now be done and it is hoped to start building in 2026. This project is part-funded by Somerset Rivers Authority.
Somerset residents are invited to join the annual Somerset Prepared Community Resilience Day on Wednesday 15 October at Taunton Racecourse Conference Centre (10am to 4pm). Entrance is free but you will need to book. Please come along if you'd like to learn more about getting ready for emergencies such as flooding, severe weather, power cuts, or issues on the roads. This year's headline speaker will be the well-known former BBC Points West and national news reporter Clinton Rogers.
Works are nearing completion on a major £10million Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) scheme to reduce flood risks for a large part of the Somerset Levels and Moors. 1.22miles (1.96kilometres) of the left bank of King's Sedgemoor Drain (KSD) are being raised by the Parrett Internal Drainage Board (IDB), working as a partner in the SRA. The bank-raising is the final part of a scheme that will enable nearly 25% more flood water to flow safely in channels through the connected River Sowy - KSD system. This system runs for 13.5 miles (22km) from Monk's Leaze Clyse sluice at Combe near Langport down to Dunball Sluice north of Bridgwater. Creating extra Sowy-KSD capacity helps to protect homes, businesses, land and roads across 150 square miles, especially around Langport and upstream of Langport.
Hundreds of places across Somerset are included in the newly published Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) Annual Report 2024-25. The report describes how the SRA spent £2.8 million on a wide range of schemes and activities designed to reduce the risks and impacts of flooding.
Dunball Sluice - a vital flood defence asset near Bridgwater - has been successfully refurbished by the Environment Agency. A £9.7million project - part-funded by Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) - has given the sluice another 25 years of operational life. The Sluice plays an important role in helping to protect properties, businesses and internationally important habitats across the Somerset Levels and Moors.
A project part-funded by Somerset Rivers Authority has won the Catchment Restoration Award in the River Restoration Centre's 2025 UK River Prizes. The Holnicote Estate Project, led by the National Trust in West Somerset, was picked for its successes over the last seven years in restoring natural processes to the River Aller and Horner Water catchments.
Work is starting on a major scheme to help protect the dam at Chard Reservoir from extreme future flooding. The project is led by Somerset Council and part-funded by Somerset Rivers Authority. Work is expected to be completed by the summer.
A major milestone is reached in the building of the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier with the arrival of a jack-up barge from Liverpool. It will enable the creation of a cofferdam, an enclosure pumped dry to allow for work below the water level of the River Parrett, and the construction of bearing piles for the Barrier’s foundations.
A new £3.2million programme of flood risk reduction works across Somerset has been approved by the Board of Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA). Fourteen schemes and activities will benefit dozens of different places. The SRA's council tax charge stays at the same level it was set in 2016.
Small grants for works to reduce flooding are now being offered directly to Somerset communities by Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA). The SRA's new Community Flood Action Fund will help people with good local knowledge of flooding problems take the initiative and get things done. Up to £200,000 a year is being made available for practical actions with obvious benefits that can be achieved quite quickly. The Fund is aimed at not-for-profit organisations, such as town and parish councils, charities, social enterprises and community benefit societies.