Chard residents are being urged to back a new phase of the drive to reduce historic local issues with flooding by joining a pilot project that could see more than 800 water butts handed out to homes in the Somerset…
A three-year project on the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate in Somerset has successfully reconnected a section of a Somerset river to its floodplain to create a new and instantly different waterscape using the innovative ‘Stage 0’ river restoration technique, first pioneered in Oregon, USA. It is the first time the full approach of a river reset has been attempted on a main river at this scale in the UK.
The fifth annual Somerset Community Resilience Day is being held at Wincanton Racecourse on Thursday 5 October, 10am to 4pm. Entrance is FREE, lunch is FREE, and there is a choice of stimulating talks, workshops, demonstrations and activities. PLUS: make a nomination for the Somerset Community Resilience Award 2023.
The Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) Annual Report 2022-23 covers dozens of activities funded by the SRA between the start of April 2022 and the end of March 2023. During that time, the SRA spent £5.89 million on extra flood protection and resilience works across Somerset.
Somerset Rivers Authority is recruiting a Community Engagement Officer. The job's main purpose is to help people across Somerset be better prepared for flooding. The deadline for applications was 22 June 2023. However, the SRA is also going to be advertising for a Community Engagement Support Officer. This item is therefore being kept for people to read, because it might provide some useful background information for anybody thinking of applying for the Support Officer job.
A new briefing from Environment Agency Wessex, a partner in Somerset Rivers Authority, about upcoming events and activities on the Somerset Levels and Moors. The main subjects public drop-in events in Moorland on 20 March and Burrowbridge on 27 March, the demobilisation of temporary pumps at five places this March, and a public drop-in about Currymoor reservoir on 22 March.
A new briefing from the Environment Agency about the latest situation on the Somerset Levels and Moors, following a period of very wet weather - the eighth wettest since 1891 - then several weeks of unusually dry weather. This dry weather has allowed catchments to dry out and river levels to recede. The forecast remains dry, and there is now a great deal of capacity in the Somerset Levels and Moors water storage system. This means that many smaller temporary pumps have been returned to storage, and locations, and larger temporary pumps can now be removed as planned.
This is the last in a series of Environment Agency Wessex updates about the Somerset Levels and Moors published in the first five weeks of 2023. All spillways have stopped running and river levels are stable. Most moors have returned to their normal winter water levels. Immediate risks of flooding are now greatly reduced. Activities will be organised soon to help people recover from recent events.
An Environment Agency Wessex update on a further improved situation, with no spillways running, river levels stable and the volume of water stored on moors down to about 11.3 million cubic metres. Riparian owners are again encouraged to check their culverts and ditches, and clear any blockages to ensure free flowing water to pumps. Many of temporary pumps will be kept in place through the winter, though some smaller pumps are no longer providing benefit and require servicing. They will be returned to the local depot, from where they can be quickly re-deployed if needed. Pumps at Fordgate and Bridgwater Docks have been demobilised. However, any pumps requiring more time to install will be kept in place.
An Environment Agency Wessex update about an improved state of affairs on the Somerset Levels & Moors, with reduced flood risks. The situation is no longer classed as a major incident, but matters are still being closely monitored and a lot of pumping activity is still happening. Furthermore, the Environment Agency intends to keep extra pumping capacity until the end of the winter.