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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Parrett Catchment Project
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Where We Work

Our interactive map illustrates the exact area the catchment covers and provides details of where our main work is being undertaken. This should be available shortly. In the meantime, our basic map shows the catchment boudary, main rivers, towns and landscape features.

 

Parrett Catchment Area Map

 

Facts

Information about the river, the wider catchment, the environmentally important areas of the levels and moors and the other significant features of the area.

 

  • The River Parrett is 59 km long

  • Its main tributaries include the rivers Tone, Isle, Carey and Yeo

  • The Parrett catchment is the largest rivers-system in Somerset covering half the county (1690 sq km)

  • The catchment contains 180 parish councils

  • Approximately 138,000 households are located in the area

  • The major towns of Taunton, Bridgwater and Yeovil are in the Parrett catchment

  • Land-use is predominantly agricultural

  • The catchment has a huge variety in scenery, from the arable uplands around Sherborne, to the wet grasslands of the levels and moors

  • Much of the Somerset Levels and Moors lies only a few feet above sea level

  • The catchment contains 47 (41 biological and 6 geological) Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), which cover an area of 9377 hectares

  • The levels and moors contain 23 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), covering an area of 6216.8 hectares

  • also contain internationally designated SPA/Ramsar sites, which cover an area of 5290.9 hectares

  •  An average of 90,000 litres of rain falls on every roof in the catchment each year.

  • An average household uses 150-165 litres of water per person every day.

  • The catchment experienced devastating flooding in 1999/2000, and six major flooding events in five years

  • The sea-level of the Bristol channel is predicted to rise by between 250-500 mm over the next fifty years

 

Where we Work Montage