A HISTORIC "lump of concrete" is being removed at Dunball to help improve water flow through King's Sedgemoor Drain (KSD).

The work is being carried out by Somerset County Council and the Somerset Rivers Authority as part of works aimed at reducing the impact of any future flooding.

The council is using £250,000 from the Department for Transport to remove the obstruction from under the Dunball Old Bridge - whcih has been there since the 1950s.

The authority said that benefits include protecting the two bridges which carry the A38 over KSD at Dunball, and reducing the impact of any future local flooding.

Dunball sluice is the only outlet for the KSD into the River Parrett and – when tidal conditions allow or pumps are used – out to sea, so it is important for the Somerset Levels and Moors that water should be able to flow through Dunball as smoothly as possible.

Contractors used divers for a survey beneath Dunball Old Bridge, then moved on to the complex destruction of the historic obstruction known locally as the “lump of concrete”.

The lump was left behind in the 1950s when an arched bridge structure was replaced by a flat deck. Its removal is being funded by Somerset County Council, using part of a grant that was given to Somerset by the Department for Transport after the devastating floods of 2013/14.

The work ties in with Somerset Rivers Authority’s proposed multi-million pound programme of improvements to the full 20km of the River Sowy and the KSD, from Monk’s Leaze Clyse near Langport down to Dunball sluice.

John Osman, leader of Somerset County Council and chair of Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA), said: “Many people have been calling for a long time for work to improve the flow of water through this crucial final stretch of King’s Sedgemoor Drain at Dunball, so I’m delighted that Somerset County Council has been able to make it happen.

“It’s also great to see Somerset Rivers Authority working in partnership, co-ordinating schemes, and taking wide long-term views.

"This is a scheme that will help to reduce flooding and protect the A38, a vital part of our road network.

"Two key aims of Somerset’s 20-Year Flood Action Plan, which is overseen by the SRA, are to maintain access for business and communities and ensure strategic transport connectivity.”

The “lump of concrete” has long acted like a bottleneck beneath Dunball Old Bridge – which carries A38 traffic southbound – and, particularly at times of high flow, made the water in the KSD more turbulent.

The damaging effects of this were felt during the floods of 2013/14 a short distance downstream, in the scouring out of the foundations and the potential weakening of the pillars under Dunball New Bridge – which carries A38 traffic northbound.

To repair and avert possible future problems, work under Dunball Old Bridge is being followed up by a Somerset County Council scheme to repair and strengthen Dunball New Bridge.

The Environment Agency is also planning action – after lump work under the Old Bridge is finished in October – to further smooth the flow through Dunball as part of the SRA’s over-arching scheme for the Sowy and King’s Sedgemoor Drain.