Dredging on the Somerset Levels is moving into the final phase - the Environment Agency has dredged 8 kilometres of river banks on the Parrett and Tone and is now passing halfway in the dredging operation.

The dredging is being undertaken using a mixture of floating equipment, large excavators mounted on the riverbanks and even amphibious dredgers. The wide range of equipment is needed to cope with the large tidal range in the river and the soft ground conditions on the banks.

A fleet of tractors and trailers is then carrying the silt away for spreading on agricultural land or for floodbank strengthening.

So far, the Agency has removed approximately 80,000 tonnes of silt and remain on programme to complete work by the end of October.

The dredging  is a major civil engineering project and the Environment Agency is monitoring the impact on the natural environment.

Graham Quarrier for the Environment Agency said:

“We have discovered water voles on the River Tone on a section of bank where we are due to start dredging shortly. We have worked closely with Natural England to obtain an appropriate license. We will be trapping and relocating them over the next week, including checking and setting the traps over the weekend. This will ensure that the completion is not delayed and that we don’t harm a protected species during our works.”

As well as completing the dredge, the Agency is also repairing local ‘assets’ like river banks, pumping stations, including improvements to Northmoor Pumping Station, sluices, gates and coastal flood defences that were damaged in the floods. The repairs include work  set out in the 20 year plan for the Somerset levels and moors.