The A361 across the Somerset Levels has been reopened this evening (11 January) following effective action by the Environment Agency (EA) to reduce water levels.
The EA advised Somerset County Council yesterday that there was a potential flood risk to the A361 as Currymoor, one of the largest flood storage reservoirs on the Somerset Levels and Moors, was 98 per cent full. As the threat of floodwater posed a risk to road users, the council closed the road as a precaution.
Thanks to pumping at Currymoor today, the EA has issued fresh advice to Somerset County Council which indicates that the road is unlikely to flood for at least 24 – 48 hours. The EA confirmed that progress has been made to reduce the water level of Currymoor in the past 24 hours. Thanks to capacity in the River Tone and sustained pumping the capacity in the flood storage reservoir is now 93 per cent full, reducing the immediate risk of flooding to the road.
The Council will continue to work closely with the EA over the coming days to monitor the situation and will act swiftly to reclose the road if necessary.
The Met Office has issued a weather warning for heavy rain from 9pm tonight to 5pm tomorrow. This will cause the River Tone to rise and therefore prevent further pumping at Currymoor, causing water levels to rise again.
If this happens it may necessitate the road being closing again. Local residents and businesses are being kept informed.
Check your flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation on the opens in a new windowGOV.uk website, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or follow @EnvAgencySW on Twitter for the latest flood updates.
You can see if emergency road closure gates are open or closed on the opens in a new windowSomerset County Council website and get travel updates from opens in a new window@TravelSomerset.