High capacity water pumps are being pressed back into action today (Monday) after being switched off over the weekend because of damage to the banks of the River Parrett.
The Environment Agency said the riverbanks had been eroded due to the volume of flood water being discharged from the King’s Sedgemoor drain at Dunball, near Burnham.
Engineers spent much of Sunday stabilising the bank by adding ballast and extending the pipes to allow them to pump water further out into the estuary.
“The decision was taken to stop for a short period to stabilise the bank so we can restart pumping on Monday. We also have used this opportunity to move the pipes further into the estuary to minimise further damage,” said a spokesman.
A total of 13 Dutch pumps have been brought in by the Environment Agency to divert flood water and reduce levels in the River Tone and River Parrett. Eight of them are installed at Dunball and five at Beerwall, near Bridgwater.
Up to a million tonnes of flood water has already been pumped out, the spokesman added. About 65 square miles (41,600 acres) of the Somerset Levels have been flooded for several weeks.
Pictured: The scenes at Dunball on Sunday evening and, earlier in the day, the damaged river bank (daylight pic from Mark Whitcombe)
