FAQs

Flooding in Abingdon

Abingdon had a difficult 2024. Your rivers, the Ock, Stert and Thames, flooded several times. This resulted in homes and businesses flooding. 

The causes of flooding are both simple (too much rain) and complex.  The more complex causes include geology, land use, drainage, river channel adaptations, agricultural practices, the interactions between different rivers and surface water, and channel maintenance. 

Climate change makes extreme weather more likely. Unfortunately, Abingdon will likely flood again.

Large organisations such as Oxfordshire County Council and the Environment Agency have an important part to play in reducing flood risk. I believe that community groups and individuals have an equally important, but different role to play. 

 Community groups can develop local actions that provide the greatest benefit to your area.

 This group will continue to be hosted and coordinated by the Environment Agency, however the most important voices are yours, and we will act to create a fair and equitable forum for everyone to share their thoughts, ideas and opinions.

This is a surprisingly complex term and open to lots of academic discussion. 

The Thames Valley Local Resilience Forum  describes resilience as "The ability of individuals, communities, and organizations to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies. This involves planning for local risks, being prepared to help themselves and others, and minimizing the impact of emergencies on the public, property, and the environment"

This is the link to the website for the TVLRF(External link)

Preventing all future flooding is incredibly challenging and unlikely to be a feasible approach.  We should understand that water flowing from the river channel onto the flood plain is a natural process. Our focus is on reducing flood risk to homes and businesses. 

The Environment Agency focus is on managing flooding from ‘main rivers’, including the Thames, Stert, Ock and Stamford Brook. Oxfordshire County Council take the lead in flooding from non-main rivers and surface water flooding. Whatever the source, we are focussed on managing the risk of flooding to homes and businesses. 

 The flooding of gardens, driveways, outbuildings, communal areas, footpaths, and access roads is not as impactful as flooding of homes and businesses.

 The flooding of roads is not our priority; however, we know that flooded roads present risks. It is relevant to note that the greatest cause of deaths during floods are vehicle related. We consider the safety of our communities in everything we do. 

A stakeholder is a person, team or organisation that has a particular interest in a project or are impacted in some way. 

Key stakeholders in Abingdon Together : Resilient to Flooding should include : Residents impacted by flooding, other Abingdon residents, organisations such as the Environment Agency, Oxfordshire County Council, Vale of the White Horse District Council, Abingdon Town Council, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue, Thames Valley Local Resilience Forum, Ock Catchment Partnership, and many more...

A stakeholder does not have to be involved in all elements of a project. 

The benefits of using this virtual site compared to face-to-face meetings

Using this engagement site means:

• No need to worry about getting to meetings, work commitments, childcare, or parking. This is especially useful if you have mobility issues. It will ensure that everyone can get involved. 
• It will be quicker. Projects based around monthly meetings tend to move very slowly. By engaging on this platform we should be able to work more efficiently.
• Avoids "engagement by email."
• Low carbon cost. The environmental cost of a series of small real-world events is significant. There is a link between climate change and flooding.

Appropriate use and participation

 Any comments or behaviour that is not appropriate will be challenged and dealt with.

 It is quite possible to “disagree agreeably” and we request that all participants remain polite and courteous.

 Users should not confuse making a comment on this site as "informing the Environment Agency / Oxfordshire County Council etc." If you need to contact an organisation to report flooding, ask a question or make a complaint, please use the formal routes. 

Oxford Flood Toolkit website and contact(External link)

Environment Agency general enquiries + Incident hotline(External link)

Residents who hold elected office are very welcome; However, this site must not be used for political purposes. There will be limitations on its use in the run up to elections, through the ‘pre-election period’ through until communications controls are lifted.

During a flood incident, the Environment Agency and partners will be focused on incident response, as such there will be less activity on this page until resources can be redistributed.

This project will retain a flooding and community resilience focus. Other related environmental issues not related to reducing flood risk or increasing resilience, such as river water quality, will be managed elsewhere. 

The Environment Agency is the data controller for the personal data you provide. For further information on how we deal with your personal data please see our Personal Information Charter on GOV.UK (External link)(search 'Environment Agency personal information charter') or contact our Data Protection team:  

Email: dataprotection@environment-agency.gov.uk(External link)  

Address:   

Data Protection team   

Environment Agency   

Horizon House  

Deanery Road  

Bristol  

BS1 5AH