It was built in 1940 to supply process water to ROF Bridgwater, and has resulted in reduced flooding of the lower Brue Valley.

A large section of the river and its surrounding lands has been designated as a national nature reserve which is managed by the Environment Agency.

Louis Kelting, the Chief Engineer of the Somerset Catchment Board revived Clark's plans, and combined the water supply solution with a drainage scheme.

[5] It ran from Gold Corner, where it was connected to the South Drain, to a new outfall on the estuary of the River Parrett,[5] and had retention sluices at both ends, so that it acted as a long reservoir.

Because the underlying soil was peat, the weight of the flood bank caused it to rotate and push upwards in the bottom of the channel.

[6] This arrangement is authorised by section 35 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and funding for the maintenance and upkeep of the river as a reserve is still provided by Natural England.

The Parrett flows into Bridgwater Bay, which is also an important national nature reserve,[16] on the edge of the Bristol Channel.

Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and mercury compounds, neither of which had previously been included in the assessment.