SRA partners to start £300,000 Somerset Levels & Moors maintenance

3rd August 2026
SRA

Main river maintenance works funded by Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) are set to begin on the Somerset Levels and Moors from Monday 10 August, 2026.

These works will be delivered by the Parrett and Axe Brue Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs), acting as partners in the SRA, through a Public Sector Cooperation Agreement with the Environment Agency.

Works are being funded by the SRA only in a selection of places which the Environment Agency has had to drop (because of increased costs and reduced funds) from its own ongoing programme of main river maintenance activities. (Pictured at the top of this page: Whitelake River, with Glastonbury Tor in the distance.)

The SRA’s aim is to help ensure that clear and effective routes are available for conveying and evacuating water from the lower Somerset Levels & Moors. The floods of early 2026 were a major reminder of the importance of this principle.

The SRA also recognises that clear and effective conveyance routes are of great importance during times of drought. They feed water into ditches and rhynes so that livestock can drink and be kept in by ‘wet fences’, and so that sites designated for their natural and historical value can be preserved.

The works to be delivered by the IDBs, using local contractors, will primarily consist of vegetation clearance and weed cutting. Below: two views of weed growth in the River Cary.

Weed growth in the River Cary, a close-up view.

Weed growth in the River Cary, between fields.

Factors such as ground conditions and weather make the cost and duration of works unpredictable. The IDBs’ goal is to deliver as much maintenance as possible, within the constraints of the SRA funding allocated (£300,000).

The sites listed below are those where the IDBs are hoping to get works done, because of the impact these watercourses can have on flooding, drainage, and issues of water quality and quantity, but it is crucial to note that not all sites may be reached.

River Parrett catchment

River Cary (Somerton to Henley), 8.6km

Decoy Rhyne, 0.3km

Dunball Rhyne, 1.1km

Eighteen Feet Rhyne, 8.2km

King’s Sedgemoor drain, upstream of Greylake, 2.9km

Middlemoore Rhyne, 1.1km

Misbrook Rhyne, 1.7km

Poolmead Rhyne. 1.6km

Main river maintenance in the River Parrett catchment in 2026: works funded (and not funded) by the public sector.

Download a PDF of the River Parrett main river maintenance map 2026: River Parrett catchment main river maintenance 2026-27 financial year

Axe Brue catchment

Blind Pill Rhyne, 5.4km

Brent, 2.6km

Division Rhyne, 6.3km

Hartlake, 3.4km

Landcourse Rhyne, 1.2km

Lox Yeo, 5.7km

Panborough Drain, 7.5km

Redlake, 4.2km

Rhynemoor Rhyne, 1km

Whitelake, 5km

Main river maintenance in the Axe Brue catchment in 2026: works funded (and not funded) by the public sector.

Download a PDF of the Axe Brue main river maintenance map 2026: Axe Brue main river maintenance map 2026-27 financial year

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact the Somerset Drainage Boards Consortium office on 01278 789906.