Flood Control: Somerset

(asked on 18th September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of preparations to mitigate flooding of the Somerset Levels in the winter.


This question was answered on 2nd October 2020

At this time of year, being incident ready and resilient for winter flooding is a top priority for the Environment Agency (EA). The EA are working to ensure that its incident response rosters are well-populated and that incident duty staff have had refresher training.

This summer, across the Levels and Moors, EA field staff have been working to deliver a multimillion pound programme of maintenance works. This includes repairs and essential maintenance to pump stations, clearing main rivers to ensure maximum conveyance, localised repairs to damaged flood banks, and asset inspections to address any defects. Contingency plans have also been developed for strategically important assets with an ongoing programme of tests and exercises.

In October, the EA has planned specialist training for its staff on deploying ultra-high volume pumps and temporary defences. Separate training sessions are also planned with supply chain partners so that they are well briefed if they are needed.

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