EMERGENCY measures to fight regular winter flooding in Oxford, including firefighters preparing pumps on a busy main road into the city, have been tested.
The flood defence drills have been carried out by a group of different public bodies in preparation for the heavy rain expected in the winter.
Two exercises took place yesterday (Thursday, August 20), with firefighters testing water pumps at Bullstake Close near Botley Road at 11am, and flood barriers being tested by Environment Agency officials at South Hinksey at midday.
One of the fire service chiefs involved in the operation said there was a likelihood that regular flooding would become 'more frequent' because of climate change.
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Chris Barber, the station manager for Rewley Road Fire Station, said: "With climate change, unfortunately there is a tendency for it to increase and become more frequent."
But he added that plans to protect areas of the city which were at risk from being flooded regularly each had plans to contain the high waters.
Mr Barber said that alongside the systems in place for Botley Road and South Hinksey, there were also emergency plans to prevent flooding in Binsey Lane and at Abingdon Road.
Firefighters testing our flood pumps at Bullstake Close, near Botley Road
Both Botley Road and Abingdon Road, arterial routes into the centre of Oxford, were flooded in 2014.
To avoid flooding of Botley Road and nearby streets, two water mains pipes have been laid under the road north to south.
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Firefighters can attach pumps to these to carry water from low lying meadows to the north of the road, and direct it into the Bullstake Stream south of the road.
In South Hinksey, huge metal barriers were erected to prevent flood waters from flowing into homes in the village.
Environment agency workers testing flood barriers at South Hinksey. Picture: Ed Nix
Nick Hills, a resident of Earl Street near the Botley Road, and a member of the Oxford Flood Alliance campaign group, said he thought the flood defence preparations had improved over the years.
Mr Hills said: "We've had floods in this area since 2000. I personally have had water in my home in I think 2000, 2003 and 2007.
"But as the floods have developed, so has the response."
The flood defences could be bolstered by plans to dig a huge trench, called the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme.
The £150m scheme will run from a field north of Botley Road, crossing under it and then following fields to the south west of Oxford to join the Hinksey Stream near Abingdon Road.
The Environment Agency has previously said the trench will be allowed to grow wild and could become an artificial habitat for wildlife.
A map of the planned flood trench.
According to the Environment Agency, the worst flooding on record in Oxford was in 1947, though low lying areas of the city like streets around Botley Road frequently flood.
Over the weekend and during this week, some areas of Oxfordshire have experienced flash flooding as a result of sudden downpours of heavy rain.
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