Chard residents given water butts in anti-flooding trial

Chard was hit with devastating floods in June 2021

Eight hundred water butts are being given out to homes in a town that was badly hit by flooding two years ago.

Wessex Water is giving residents of Chard the butts to store rainwater to help stop the sewers being overwhelmed.

"If 100 properties install a 200 litre water butt that can store nearly 250 bathtubs of water, it provides extra storage that can reduce flooding," said Vicky Farwig from Wessex Water.

The butts are one of several measures it is trialling to reduce floods.

They will be given out to residents in certain parts of Chard, including the Crimchard and Glynswood areas.

Wessex Water said it would contact the owners of the butts to advise them to drain them before heavy rain is forecast.

Several feet of water surged through Chard in June 2021, in what was described as a "one in 300 year event."

The water damaged several roads and houses in the town.

"Chard has suffered several big flooding events of the last few years, and the way we manage rainwater is not brilliant," said Matt Wheeldon, director of infrastructure development at Wessex Water.

"The water butt is a trial to improve rainwater management at the home. It's only a small part of lots of other initiatives.

"We're moving away from a climate of drizzle to more drought and more thunderstorms, so we're seeing more storms happen more often," he said.

Wessex Water is also increasing sewage capacity in some parts of Chard in an attempt to prevent future flooding.

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