A long convoy of massive pumps and drainage equipment has been imported from the Netherlands to help drain the areas of Somerset still underwater.

Four Dutch engineers with enough equipment for 21 pumps have been lining the A38 at Dunball this week, as pictured here.

The Environment Agency has enlisted the help of Jerome Van Heck, a flooding expert engineer whose equipment has helped drain waters in times of floods and natural disasters across the globe.

When he arrived in Somerset and realised the scale of the problem, he shipped more equipment over from the Netherlands during the weekend.

The extra pumps have been set up to funnel the massive amount of water out of Bridgwater and back to sea.

Peter Rossiter, a former National Rivers Authority manager, says the pumps will help to drain the water that currently has nowhere to go.

“There is an enormous amount of flooded land upstream, which can’t get out because of what we call tidelock. The pumps will help pump against that tidelock,” he said.

The process will work by using the highly complex system of canals in the area. The giant pumps will be installed around Bridgwater, which is currently a bottleneck for water.

The massive machines will funnel the water upstream and inland towards Moorland, and on towards Langport, where a relief gate can be opened on the River Parrett, near Langford.

The relief gate will allow the water to flow down a relief channel into the King Sedgmoor drain, allowing the water to flow out to sea more quickly at high tide.

Once this happens, those areas where the flooded water is stuck should see flood levels start to ease.

It is a massive job, though, and with more bad weather forecast over the next few days, there is no guarantee of when the fields will begin to drain.

Work is underway this week at Dunball Sluice, as pictured here, to support the plan and enable water to flow quicker out into the Bristol Channel past Burnham.

 
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