Upstream Monitoring

During a period of potential flooding in South Oxford you can keep an eye on the rise in water levels in the Thames, Evenlode and Cherwell rivers by looking at the table below. From this information you can assess if the flood waters are likely to keep on rising in our area of the city. The thumbnail graphs in the table show you the river levels at a number of Environment Agency river stations over the past 5 days. The stations are organised by river and are ordered from upstream to downstream. You can see where these stations are located on the map below. If river levels are continuing to rise upstream then the river levels in South Oxford will most likely also rise in the next few days. The table includes a link to a SOFLAG water level site for each river station, as does the map. The table also includes a link to the Government’s ‘Check for flooding’ web page for each river station. (Note, lots of data are being downloaded to produce the table and plots below so it takes a little time initially for these to appear.)

Usually the Thames is the river that determines most the likelihood of flooding – this influences the level in the Seacourt/Hinksey Stream and the River Thames in the South Oxford area. However the Evenlode can be important in controlling the level in the Hinksey Stream in the early stages of a flood and the River Cherwell often adds to the risk of direct flooding of Cold Harbour from the Thames. Groundwater flooding in South Oxford is caused by abnormally high levels in these local rivers.