Flood update and general information

As you will be aware we have experienced a lot of rainfall over the past few days which has led to some localised flooding and surface water across Cotswold District. Whilst the position was generally much better on Friday (although we did have issues at Cerney Wick and South Cerney), and is set to remain more settled over the weekend, there remain some risks around the river levels. We are continuing to monitor the river levels and Environment Agency (EA) flood alerts.

The Current Situation

Following this morning’s update from the EA, the position remains the same as at yesterday evening.

As such there is a Flood Warning in respect of the River Churn at Cerney Wick, with the EA comments as follows - Property flooding is expected in the Cerney Wick area. River levels are high along the River Churn and we have received reports of property flooding from the area. Therefore, flooding (of property) is expected to continue. We have had staff in the area yesterday to assess the situation. We are expecting a mostly dry day today (16/11/2019). We expect river levels to remain high over the next few days. We are closely monitoring the situation, please remain safe and aware of your local surroundings and avoid contact with flood water.

The following, lower level, Flood Alerts also remain in place (i.e. flooding is possible; and additional EA comments included):

• River Churn and its tributaries in the Water Park and surrounding areas - Property flooding is possible. River levels are high and out of banks on the river in the Cotswold Water Park area as a result of recent heavy rainfall, therefore flooding of roads and low lying land is expected.

• River Coln and its tributaries, especially around Fairford - Property flooding is not currently expected. River levels on the River Coln are high and out of banks around Fairford, but steady as a result of recent heavy rainfall. Therefore flooding of roads and farmland is expected.

• River Dikler from Condicote to Little Rissington - Property flooding is not currently expected. River levels are high on the River Dikler as a result of a period of sustained rainfall.

• River Evenlode from Moreton-in-Marsh to Cassington - Property flooding is not currently expected. River levels are high on the River Evenlode and the Glyme. Particularly on the Evenlode near Shipton under Wychwood and the Glyme near the Woodstock area where it is out of banks as a result of recent heavy rainfall. Therefore, flooding of roads and farmland is expected.

• River Leach from Northleach to Mill Lane near Lechlade - Property flooding is not currently expected. River levels are high and out of banks on the River Leach as a result of recent heavy rainfall, especially around Lechlade. Therefore flooding of roads and farmland is expected.

• River Thames and its small tributaries from Calcutt to Lechlade - Property flooding is not currently expected. River levels remain high in the Hannington Bridge area following a period of sustained rainfall. Flooding of low lying roads and farmland is expected to continue while the river is out of banks.

• Tributaries on the Upper River Thames above Cricklade, including the Water Park - Property flooding is not currently expected. River levels remain high but are beginning to fall on the Swill Brook following a period of sustained rainfall. Therefore, no further flooding of low lying roads and farmland is expected, the river should return to flowing within its channel today.

There was further rainfall in some areas overnight, but much drier weather is now expected over the next few days although there may be some more rain into next week. As a consequence, whilst river levels are likely to remain high for a few days yet, it should hopefully be a gradually improving picture (unless river peaks are longer than originally predicted). The EA have had no new reports of flooding from the Cotswold area; and we had no pager call-outs overnight.

What CDC has in place

We have a duty officer available 24/7, contactable via pager and telephone, and through a joint emergency helpline facility. That officer has contact details for our own teams who are on standby (e.g. engineering, homelessness, rest centre, communications, etc.) and for other agencies, and will set in train any necessary communications and/or action dependent upon the nature of the query or emergency. That officer also has details for our emergency response team, in case there is need for any escalation.

Our website provides a range of information, including contact details for the other key agencies:

https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/residents/environment/flooding/

On this web-page you will also find our out of hours contact number - 0151 343 2942 (enquiries to this number relating to the CDC area will be relayed to our duty officer).

The EA will be actively monitoring water courses to check how they are reacting and looking for blockages that might cause more problems.