A new award has been launched to honour people in Somerset who have made their communities more resilient. If you live in Somerset, and you know of groups or individuals who have made a difference where you live, nominate them by 30 September 2022. The award ceremony will be held on 13 October at the 2022 Somerset Community Resilience Day in West Monkton.
The Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) Annual Report 2021-22 covers dozens of activities funded by the SRA between the start of April 2021 and the end of March 2022. During that time, the SRA spent £2.831 million on extra flood protection and resilience works across Somerset.
New Somerset documentary Down by the River is released online on 1 June, following a successful tour of venues around Somerset. Down by the River is about the inspiring ways that communities across Somerset have responded to flooding. It was commissioned by Somerset Rivers Authority from the Bridgwater-based charity Somerset Film.
Somerset residents are invited to the first Somerset Water Forum, for a day of presentations and discussions about water-related issues in Somerset. This free event is being held on Friday 17 June at the Junction 24 Conference Centre in North Petherton. Speakers include Taunton Deane MP Rebecca Pow, who is a Government minister with responsibility for floods and water.
An adviser is being sought to help motivated Somerset groups and communities turn ideas into action and solve local flooding problems. The deadline for applications for this new job is 6pm on Monday 23 May (2022).
Somerset farmers are invited to bid in a revamped auction for works to reduce flooding, boost agriculture, and improve the environment. The event is being organised by the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group SouthWest for Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) and Bristol Water. The funding available is £60,000, with £40,000 coming from the SRA, and £20,000 from Bristol Water. The auction will run online from Monday 14 March to Monday 28 March. The focus this year is on the upper and mid-level catchments of the Axe, Brue and Frome rivers within Somerset, and the upper and mid-level catchments of rivers and streams within West Somerset.
Construction of the £100m Bridgwater Tidal Barrier has moved a step nearer. A Barrier will help to protect some 13,000 homes and businesses from flooding.
A new Somerset film called Down by the River premieres in February, with 11 free screenings countywide. Each event will also include an entertaining and thought-provoking selection of Somerset archive films. Down by the River is a documentary about the inspiring ways that communities across Somerset have responded to flooding.
Children enjoyed learning more about flooding when Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) and Environment Agency staff visited St John & St Francis Church School in Bridgwater. Get in touch with the SRA if your school would like a school visit.
A piece written and performed by the Somerset poet Liv Torc for the United Nations' COP26 climate change conference held in Glasgow in November 2021. For this personal take on prospects for the Somerset Levels and Moors, organised through the international Hot Poets project, Liv worked with partners in Adapting the Levels, which is part-funded by Somerset Rivers Authority.
An updated version of the Environment Agency's guide to How the Somerset Moors work. It shows in detail how water is moved around the Moors when the River Parrett and the River Tone flood. Rivers, Moors, spillways, sluice gates and pumping stations interact in complex ways.
Up-to-date information about what's happening on roads in Carhampton this November 2021. Works to reduce flooding are being done for Somerset Rivers Authority by Somerset County Council's Highways department. The B3191 Blue Anchor road is currently closed.