Sowy River

Following extensive flooding of the surrounding land in 2014, new culverts to carry the river under the A372 road at Beer Wall were constructed, and a three-year project to raise the banks and widen the channel to increase its capacity was undertaken.

It has the capacity to hold 1.2 million cubic metres as part of a scheme by the Parrett Internal Drainage Board to restore ten floodplains in Somerset.

In January 2010, when bird numbers were at their peak, some 4,000 wigeon, lapwing and teal were recorded on the moor, while other species sighted included Bewick's swan, pintail, shoveler, golden plover and gadwall.

[5] In January 2014, the A372 road at Beer Wall flooded, as culverts carrying the Sowy River and Langacre Rhyne were unable to cope with the volume of water.

The work included the construction of foundation slabs for two tilting weirs, and this was funded by the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership.

Beginning in April 2016, the two tilting weirs were built, and a bank to maintain the separation between the Sowy River and the new course of the Langacre Rhyne was constructed.

[11] Where widening was carried out, the new channel included a shelf 1 foot (0.3 m) below the normal summer water level, to increase the range of habitats available.

Like many waterways 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.