Beer Wall work nears completion
County Council leader John Osman held court at Beer Court this morning, this time though it was in his capacity as Chair of the Somerset Rivers Authority. The work to connect the water channels to the giant culverts running under the A 372 has now been all but finished with a couple of giant adjustable weirs controlling the flow of water running towards the road. The weirs are designed to survive being completely submerged so are stress tested if you like against future extreme flooding. 
In the meantime Jon Rowlands from the Environment Agency was on hand to explain that the weirs also come equipped with eel ladders to help migrating elvers up and over the weir and separate otter channels are also being included in the project to ensure wildlife can move freely around the new man made obstacles on the channels.
The Sowy river remains as the main channel but the second, to be known as the Langacre channel will significantly increase the amount of water that can be moved in the event of heavy flooding.
The SRA are already looking ahead to the next phase of work which will eventually see the Sowy being widened all the way from Kings Sedgemoor Drain to Monks Leaze Clyse