SRA Annual report 2019-20: Summary of W1 Dredging and River Management
2019-20 summary
Work has included:
- pioneer dredging along the River Parrett between Stathe and Burrowbridge and a trial between Northmoor and the M5
- maintenance dredging from Burrowbridge down past Northmoor Pumping Station
- the development of plans for enhancing the River Sowy and King’s Sedgemoor Drain in 2020
- financial support for the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier, Taunton improvements and a flood protection scheme for homes in Highbridge
- a study of options for Tootle Bridge and Catsham south-east of Glastonbury
- culvert cleaning at Sampford Brett near Williton
Somerset Rivers Authority spends more on Dredging and River Management than it does on any other workstream. Schemes are designed and delivered for the SRA by a range of partners and contractors. Money comes from either council tax or the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership’s Growth Deal Fund – or sometimes both.
The three main strands are:
- major SRA projects
- major projects led by other bodies and backed by the SRA
- smaller projects
Extra maintenance, repairs and improvements figure strongly across the county. Many projects are complex and take more than a year to deliver. It is often said that if some matters were simple, they would already have been dealt with by someone else! But working together, SRA partners get results through innovation, sophistication and good old-fashioned determination.