More than £775,000 will be spent over the next 12 months on additional dredging on the Somerset Levels after a vote by the Somerset Rivers Authority board in Yeovil on Friday, 20 March 2026.

The funding will pay for another round of work on the River Parrett, focusing on the stretch downstream of Burrowbridge, where the river system plays a crucial role in moving water off the Levels and Moors and out towards the Bristol Channel.

Since 2015, the Parrett Internal Drainage Board has delivered an annual dredging programme to maintain the river's capacity following the Environment Agency's most recent major dredge in 2014. The work has been funded through the Somerset Rivers Authority as part of its yearly budget, which is raised through council tax.

The latest programme will target a three-mile section south of Burrowbridge, running through Northmoor Green and Fordgate and around the Westonzoyland pumping station.

Burrowbridge has long been seen as a key pressure point on the Somerset Levels because it sits at the confluence of the River Parrett and the River Tone, with the A361 running through the village. Dredging in this area was identified as a priority in the Somerset 20-year flood action plan drawn up after the floods of 2013/14.

The most recent round of dredging took place in early January to coincide with larger winter tides. The new work will use the same method as in previous years, with a platform-mounted excavator operated by WM Longreach pulling silt from the river bank into the channel.

A specialist vessel known as the Borr, operated by Van Oord, then uses water jets to agitate and disperse the silt so it can be carried downstream on the outgoing tide.

An SRA spokesperson said the operation is expected to move around 25,000 cubic metres of solidified sediment from the centre of the channel and the higher parts of the banks.

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The authority said that would help reduce flood risk for around 1,300 homes and businesses and about 7,500 hectares of land. That includes 5.3 miles of A-roads, including the A372 between Bridgwater and Langport, the A361 near Athelney and Othery, and the A378 at Wrantage, as well as 30 miles of minor roads and five miles of mainline railway.

The spokesperson said: "Because it allows more water to be conveyed, dredging helps to delay the running of spillways and the filling up of moors, and to create possibilities for earlier pumping."

They added that SRA funding for dredging also gives "peace of mind" to local people, particularly after recent periods of intense rainfall.

The board has already voted to continue water injection dredging until at least 2031/32, underlining how central the work remains to long-term flood management on the Somerset Levels.

Original reporting: Daniel Mumby/LDRS

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