Introduction

Climate change may be a global concern, but its effects will very much be felt at the local level.

The summer floods of 1997 and the prolonged flooding of 1999/2000 proved that the Parrett catchment’s river and drainage system cannot cope in extreme weather events, and the likelihood of increased stormy conditions, combined with rising sea levels will make the problem of flooding much greater over the next few decades.

As such, local agencies and people came together in 2000 to form the Parrett Catchment Project (PCP), whose aim it is to take action to address the issue of flooding now, rather than storing up problems for the future.

The Parrett catchment is a large area (1690 Square kilometres), which includes not only the River Parrett itself, but also its main tributaries - the Tone, Isle, Cary and Yeo. The area also contains the major urban areas of Taunton, Bridgwater and Yeovil and the internationally significant Somerset Levels and Moors. It is economically, culturally, archaeologically, agriculturally, and environmentally significant, with numerous international, national and local designations of land use.

This diversity means that efforts to address flooding have to consider a variety of concerns, be they from individuals, communities, farmers, businesses or other organizations. The PCP is a partnership of 27 organizations, which reflect the diversity of issues and shape the work of the project to ensure the activities of every single organization are coordinated and contribute to the objectives of the whole.

There is no single organisation which can tackle the problem of flooding alone, so there is no single solution. After early consultations, twelve areas of action were established, which, when combined, will make a significant contribution to reducing the adverse effects of flooding.

They are:

1. Changes to agricultural land management

2. Creating temporary flood storage areas on farmland

3. Controlling runoff from development

4. Creating new wetland habitats

5. Dredging and maintaining river channels

6. Raising riverbanks

7. Upgrading pumping stations

8. Spreading floodwater across the moors

9. Building a tidal sluice or barrier downstream of Bridgwater

10. Upgrading channels to enhance gravity drainage

11. Restricting new development on the floodplain

12. Woodland development

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