Sowy River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sowy River |
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The Sowy River at Stathe
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| Country | England |
| State | Somerset |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | River Parrett 51°02′41″N 2°50′38″W / 51.04472°N 2.84389°W |
| River mouth | King's Sedgemoor Drain 51°06′43″N 02°53′16″W / 51.11194°N 2.88778°W |
| Length | 12 km (7.5 mi) |
The Sowy River is a special water channel in Somerset, England. It was built by people, not by nature. Its main job is to help control water levels and prevent flooding in the area.
How the Sowy River Was Built
The Sowy River is about 7.5-mile (12.1 km) long. It's like a big ditch with raised banks on the sides. It starts near a place called Monks Leaze, close to Langport.
This channel helps move extra water from the River Parrett. The water then flows into another channel called the King's Sedgemoor Drain. From there, the water travels all the way to the sea, eventually rejoining the Parrett River near Dunball.
Building the Sowy River was a big project. It also involved making the King's Sedgemoor Drain better. They even rebuilt a special gate called a "clyce" at Dunball. This gate helps keep saltwater from the sea out of the drain. The whole project cost about £1.4 million and was finished in 1972. Thanks to this work, areas like Aller Moor have much less flooding.
Helping Nature with the Sowy River
Between 2009 and 2010, more work was done on the Sowy River. They improved gates and channels to help nature. Now, during winter, they can let water from the Sowy River flow onto Southlake Moor. This creates a temporary flood.
This area can hold a lot of water, about 1.2 million cubic metres! It's part of a plan to bring back ten natural floodplains in Somerset. These floodplains are like giant sponges that soak up extra water.
In the spring, the water is drained away. This allows the land to be used for grazing animals during the summer. This clever system also helps attract many different kinds of water birds. It's a great example of how engineering can help both people and wildlife!
Checking the Water Quality
It's important to know if the water in rivers and channels is clean. The Environment Agency checks the water quality of river systems in England. They give each river an "ecological status." This tells us how healthy the river environment is.
The ecological status can be:
- High
- Good
- Moderate
- Poor
- Bad
To figure this out, they look at different things. They check the types and numbers of tiny water creatures (invertebrates), plants, and fish. They also check the "chemical status," which means they test for different chemicals in the water. Chemical status is either "good" or "fail."
The Sowy River and the King's Sedgemoor Drain are checked together. In 2015, their water quality was rated as "moderate" for ecological status and "good" for chemical status. This means there's always work being done to keep our waterways healthy!
