Following memorable floods in 1979 and 1982, Bruton’s flood storage reservoir was built a mile upstream, to ‘slow the flow’, and hence protect the town from the flash-flooding that our Brue headwaters are prone to. The 1982 flood seriously damaged Church Bridge, the repair of which is commemorated by a plaque on its downstream wall. The Environment Agency also lowered the weir beneath to reduce turbulence.
Our flood protection bund and storage reservoir were improved in 2008, adding capacity to protect Bruton from likely impacts of climate change over the next 50 years, while also strengthening its embankment. We are therefore arguably better guarded from flooding than any town in Somerset, but our unique geology, and consequent geomorphology, requires such hydrological damping.
Restoring the river Brue