A flood barrier with sandbags was erected next to St Helen’s Mill in Abingdon this afternoon. There has been a lot of rain over recent days. Light showers are expected on Christmas Day.
Last year over Christmas the Ock Valley walk was closed because of flooding. The water was swilling over the driveway at St Helen’s Mill.
The Town Council is organising a “Flood Fair” to be held at the Guildhall on Thursday 24th October 2013 from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Flooding has been a problem in the town in the past, and with the winter approaching the Town Council are organising an event at which people will be able to find out “What You Can Do In The Event Of A Flood.”
At the Flood Fair they are bringing together a number of organisations who can give people practical advice on how to prepare for flooding and how to protect your property.”
These pictures were taken during the floods in July 2007 – an exceptional event that affected a large number of properties in Abingdon.
As well as the practical measures individual property owners can take there is still the need to work together – like the Ock Valley Flood Group, and to campaign for better flood defences for Abingdon – like the South Abingdon Flood Action Group.
SAFAG (The South Abingdon Flood Action Group) were founded in or around 2000 to campaign to stop development on the flood plain near Tesco. Since then SAFAG produced a plan to protect the Ock Valley from future development by turning it into a nature reserve, and just this month have produced a new study on flood prevention using tree planting.
The Vale of White Horse is the catchment area of the River Ock, and after a deluge all the water can arrive at Abingdon in a torrent. The SAFAG study suggests that land management can help to reduce the peak flow of the river during extreme storms by delaying the arrival of storm water at Abingdon. Measures to achieve this can include strategic tree planting and woodland management along the river corridor. The full study can be a read here or by visiting the SAFAG Website.
This evening at Preston Road Community Centre the Ock Valley Flood Group had their annual open meeting, and there was a good turnout.
Nichola Blackwood, MP, spoke about getting a good deal from insurers for houses at risk of flooding. Ian Hudspeth, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, spoke about better joined up thinking in response to floods. Malcolm Moore presented a scheme about tree planting in the areas above Abingdon to stop water coming down all at once. More of that soon.
A man from the Environment Agency said that in the case of Abingdon a number of measures working together will reduce the risk of flooding, such as: his own men’s work, and the work of the Ock Valley Flood group (seen above) helping clear our rivers and ditches; such as better agricultural methods upstream – how fields are ploughed; and better tree planting.
Ock Valley Flood group volunteers will be back out in action in 2 weeks time. They clear rivers and ditches during the 2nd Saturday of each month.