Latest updates

The EA Flood Alert for the River Thames and its tributaries in the Oxford area was removed this morning

Project Groundwater is hosting a Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Event in South Oxford. This event is an opportunity for residents and businesses in our area to gain practical insights into PFR measures and the broader campaign to increase awareness and preparedness for groundwater flooding. The Floodmobile will be in attendance so you can see how PFR would look in your own house!

Date & time: Tuesday 24^th February 2026 from 10:30 to 17:30 

Location:  Redbridge Park & Ride, Oxford (near to the Travelodge)

Google maps: Redbridge Park & Ride - Google Maps 

3Words: ///sting.lies.occurs 

local water levels in the River Thames and Hinksey Stream rose from yesterday morning but appear to have peaked and are now slowly receding. Hinksey Lake and New Hinksey groundwater levels remain high – they have risen slightly since yesterday. Elsewhere the Thames through Oxford and directly upstream of Eynsham is high but dropping slightly. The River Evenlode is on the way down but the Cherwell is rising – we’ll keep an eye on what this means for the Thames towards Iffley. So overall, rivers full but levels generally going down – groundwater levels will take longer to respond. Rainfall forecast over the next few days doesn’t look too bad thankfully

local river levels measured in the Thames at Iffley Lock and the Hinksey Stream at the Old Abingdon Road are slowly dropping. The levels in the Rivers Cherwell and Evenlode are also stable or dropping. There is a pulse of water coming down the main Thames from the Cotswolds, presumably due to the rainfall from a couple of days ago. It seems unlikely this will have a significant impact on river levels locally but SOFLAG will keep an eye on it over the next couple of days. Hinksey Lake has risen about 4cm over the past day – it is fed by groundwater which is rising as a delayed response to the overall increase in river levels over the past week or so. Groundwater rise may cause issues with toilets flushing for some - it has in parts of Cold Harbour. These groundwater levels should be past the peak soon

A flood alert is still in place for all the rivers within and upstream of the Oxford area. The EA has also placed a flood warning on the River Ray - this feeds into the River Cherwell which then joins the River Thames by Christchurch Meadow. Levels at key EA river monitoring stations upstream of South Oxford are still rising and will likely continue to do so in the coming days, and more rain is forecast this week. SOFLAG is continuing to keep an eye on the river levels - you can access the EA monitoring network via the Upstream Monitoring page of our web site. It's also worth signing up to the EA Flood Warning service.

have a look at the new Upstream Monitoring section of our web site - it shows in one place a number of the EA river stations with live water level data. You can use this to see whether the river levels upstream of Oxford are still rising during periods of potential flood

The EA issued a Flood Alert for the River Thames and its tributaries in the Oxford area on 16 Jan 2026. SOFLAG will be keeping an eye on local and upstream river levels to assess the likelihood of any flooding of property in South Oxford

The EA Flood Alert for the River Thames and its tributaries in the Oxford area was removed on the morning of 29 December 2025

The Environment Agency Flood Alert is still in place but river levels in the Thames, Evenlode, Cherwell and Seacourt/Hinksey Stream are now on the way down. Thankfully it looks like we're heading in to a relatively dry period over Christmas

The ground is saturated and river levels high, so any substantial rainfall event is likely to result in the Environment Agency issuing Flood Alerts. The Upper Thames, Evenlode and Cherwell rivers have now flood alerts in place as does the River Thames and tributaries in the Oxford area. SOFLAG will continue to keep an eye on river levels and will let local residents know if the EA issues a Flood Warning for our area.