More than £770,000 committed for future dredging on Somerset Levels
The funding allocation was confirmed at a meeting on Friday last week
More than £770,000 will be spent over the next 12 months carrying out additional dredging on the Somerset Levels.
Since 2015, the Parrett Internal Drainage Board has delivered an annual programme of work to ensure that the River Parrett has sufficient capacity, allowing large volumes of water to be moved off the Levels and Moors and flow out into the Bristol Channel.
This work – which has been carried out since the Environment Agency’s most recent dredge in 2014 – has been funded through the Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) as a key part of its annual budget (which is derived from council tax).
The SRA board voted in Yeovil on Friday morning (March 20) to allocate up to £775,000 for a further round of dredging in the next financial year, focussing on the section downstream of Burrowbridge.
Burrowbridge is a key area within the Somerset Levels and Moors, being the site of the confluence of the River Parrett and the River Tone, with the crucial A361 passing through the village.
Dredging this section of the river was identified as a key priority as far back as the Somerset 20-year flood action plan, which was assembled in the wake of the catastrophic floods of 2013/14.
The most recent round of dredging was carried out in early-January to coincide with some of the larger winter tides of the winter.
The coming year’s dredging will utilise similar methods to those employed in previous years, with a platform-mounted excavator (operated by WM Longreach) pulling silt off the river bank and depositing it in the river channel.
From there, a specialist craft called the Borr (operated by Van Oord ) uses powerful water jets to “agitate and disperse” the silt, putting it into suspension and allowing it to be carried downstream on the outgoing tide.
The SRA has confirmed that the next round of dredging would focus on a three-mile stretch south of Burrowbridge, extending through Northmoor Green and Fordgate and skirting around the Westonzoyland pumping station.
A spokesperson said: “The digger and barge would shift an estimated 25,000 cubic metres of solidified sediments from the central parts of the river’s channel and the higher parts of its banks.
“Dredging this part of the Parrett would help to reduce flood risks for around 1,300 homes and businesses, and around 7,500 hectares of land – including 5.3 miles of A-roads (including the A372 between Bridgwater and Langport, the A361 near Athelney and Othery, and the A378 at Wrantage), 30 miles of minor roads and five miles of the mainline rail network.
“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.
“SRA funding for dredging also helps to bring peace of mind to people, especially given recent record-breaking periods of intense rain.”
The SRA board voted in September 2025 to continue water injection dredging until at least 2031/32.