The dry weather over the last few days has allowed the Environment Agency to start work on reducing the amount of water currently lying on the Somerset Levels.

Pumps are already removing water via Northmoor and Saltmoor Pumping Stations. Additional pumps have also been deployed by Ops Delivery staff at these stations to try and reduce the amount of water lying on the land. An extra pump has been brought from North East region to boost the pumping capacity at Currymoor when river conditions allow.

Pumping stations above Langport are also pumping water from the moors into the river as levels have reduced sufficiently. The Flood Relief channel which takes water from the River Parrett below Langport into the Kings Sedgemoor Drain and out into the Parrett estuary at Dunball is being utilised to further reduce levels.

The Environment Agency had already reduced water levels on the moors in late April in anticipation of heavy rainfall.

Following the heavy rainfall a significant amount of water was stored in the flood plain on the Somerset levels. The physical geography of Somerset and historic drainage practices mean the only way this water can be removed is by pumping. John Rowlands for the Environment Agency said the Agency needed to ensure the levels in the river were sufficiently reduced so pumping did not increase the risk of flooding downstream.

The exceptionally dry April has resulted in the soil forming a hard crust which becomes impermeable and does not allow the water to absorb through and resulted in substantial rapid run-off from fields.

The Environment Agency is continuing to monitor the situation across the region closely.