River levels in Oxford remain high this morning, but have now stabilised. Some homes and businesses have flooded in the last two days, and thousands more people in the city have faced a stressful 48hrs as the response services have battled to contain floodwater. If the proposed Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme were in place today none of this would have been happening. At these kinds of river levels roads would have remained open, properties and businesses would have stayed dry, and local residents would not have had to endure sleepless nights.

Because we don’t have the scheme in place we have to rely on temporary barriers and pumps to keep flood water at bay. Deployment of these defences depends on Environment Agency and Council staff working long hours to erect and maintain them, often in difficult circumstances. For the most part the response has been effective this time, but in South Hinksey the weather conditions on the night of 5 January meant temporary barriers could not be fully erected and low lying areas of the village were inundated. Barriers and pumps are now working and floodwater has been cleared. If OFAS were in place the village would not have gone through this ordeal, and until the scheme is built communities remain vulnerable to temporary defences failing.

Oxford is used to floods having the long slow buildup. This time river levels rose very fast. One question which will need to be looked at when the operational response is evaluated is whether defences were in place early enough in some locations.

OFA believes the big flood scheme is needed now. If proof were still needed of why the scheme is essential, the last few days have provided it.