Tag Archives: Project Groundwater

SOFLAG meeting on flood insurance

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South Oxford Flood Action Group (SOFLAG) was formally launched yesterday evening (16 July) at a public meeting in St Luke’s Church in South Oxford. At the start of the meeting, Rachel Hastie and David Macdonald talked briefly about the groups aims, which are to raise awareness of flood risk in the area, and increase people’s understanding of their individual flood risk and what they can do about it.

The group identified flood insurance as an issue of concern for many local residents, so they invited Emma Holroyde from Flood Re to explain the current arrangements which ensure householders at risk of flooding can obtain affordable flood cover. Flood Re is a partnership between government and the insurance industry. The scheme allows insurers to pass on flood related elements of a policy to Flood Re. It is funded by a levy on the insurance industry. Anyone trying to get flood insurance should be able to obtain quotes from insurers signed up to the scheme.

Flood Re is also working on creating a market-based solution for the longer-term, where it is no longer needed. This includes promoting the Build Back Better initiative where insurers help those affected by a flood to make their homes more flood resilient, thereby reducing the likelihood of future claims. For more information see the Flood Re website.

Emma was followed by Adrian Porter, a resident of South Hinksey and a member of the OFA steering group. He talked about the devastating experience of flooding in 2007 and how he negotiated a cash settlement with his insurer so that he could make the house flood resilient. In 2014, when serious flooding again occurred, the inside of his home stayed dry even though the water outside was much higher than the floor level inside. He was later able to sell the house because it was protected against flooding.

Following the presentations the audience had an opportunity to ask questions, and there were was time also to talk to presenters and SOFLAG members after the meeting. Fifty-eight people attended the meeting, plus speakers and SOFLAG volunteers.

OFA worked with Project Groundwater to help set up SOFLAG and has acted as an advisor to the group. SOFLAG has funding from Project Groundwater to dig a borehole at St John’s Church, New Hinksey, and install gauge boards on streams in the area. These will be used to track changes in ground and surface water levels with the data being made available through a publicly accessible website. They are looking for local volunteers to monitor levels on the gauge boards during flood incidents. More information here.

OFA featured in podcast about flood resilience

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Project Groundwater has just released the first of a new series of podcasts looking at different aspects of groundwater flooding. Episode 1 focuses on ‘resilience’ and features interviews with two academic experts on the topics, Dr Karen Potter and Dr Sarah Fitton, plus Simon Collings from Oxford Flood Alliance.

The term ‘resilience’ appears with increasing frequency in the literature about flooding, but what precisely is understood by this word is far from clear. It can mean a number of different things, and is often used to denote what is in fact a complex topic. Without being clear what we mean in any given context evaluating the success of actions to improve resilience could be difficult, and well-meaning interventions may in fact bring no benefit. There is also a risk that an emphasis on ‘community resilience’ in government policy could shift the burden of responding to floods onto communities, and away from the state. Getting he balance right will be critical.

There are things which those directly affected by flooding can do to protect their businesses and homes, and ensure they can recover quickly from a flood. But such measures need to be complemented by actions from the Environment Agency, local authorities and others, both at times of flooding and in modifying the built environment to reduce risk of property flooding.

The degree to which a group of residents has the ability, time and resources to improve their personal resilience as well as influence their wider environment, will vary from one location to another. There are risks of less well-off communities being left behind, and the degree to which ‘capacity’ can be built in vulnerable communities remains little understood.

The podcast, hosted by Katie Hargrave-Smith, lasts 40 mins and can be accessed here.

(OFA is working with Project Groundwater to try to establish a flood action group in South Oxford, an area of the city which has particular issues with groundwater.)