SRA Annual Report 2023-24: Dunball Sluice refurbishment
Part-funded by the SRA, the Environment Agency has been carrying out a major £4.2million programme of improvements at Dunball Sluice. The Sluice sits at the bottom end of the Sowy-King’s Sedgemoor Drain (KSD) system, north of Bridgwater. It is used to control flows between the KSD and the River Parrett. A crucial piece of infrastructure, first used in 1971, it is now being refurbished to help it keep going for another 25 years.
Dunball Sluice is 23.95m wide. It has four main openings known as eyes (4 metres wide). Each eye is fitted with two vertical lifting gates (4.26m wide x 3.04m high) and a tidal flap.
In 2023-24, the gates for Eyes 3 and 4 were shotblasted, inspected, refurbished (or renewed), repainted and put back on site.
The tidal flap valve for Eye 4 was refurbished and refitted. New seals were fitted, and a leakage test successfully carried out.
Northern bypass channel equipment (tide flap, penstock and tilting weir) was also refurbished. This part of the Sluice had been out of operation for several years; it is now back in service.
Works paused over the winter so the Sluice could be fully used for water level management. Upgrades resumed in 2024 with the refurbishment of the southern bypass channel and complete re-cabling and renewal of control systems. The whole scheme is currently scheduled to be finished in autumn 2024.