Demountable barriers: Following the July 2007 floods the Environment Agency bought demountable (portable) flood barriers intended to protect the island against flood water coming directly from the surrounding rivers. The barriers are stored at the EA depot on the island. EA staff have been trained to get the barriers into place when flooding threatens.
Drains: As well as inundation by river water causing flooding on the island, water overwhelming the drainage system also contributes; this contribution will not be solved by the barriers. The surface water drain along South Street acts as a sump for the whole of Osney Island and in times of a flood event will be overwhelmed. Surface water drains run south down East, Bridge and West Streets, to collect in South Street. In addition, the Bridge Street extension surface water drain runs north also joining the South Street run. This entire run discharges into Osney Stream via a single outfall by the junction of South and West Streets. It then is recycled past the rear gardens of houses in Doyley Road and the west side of the Bridge Street extension. This is not acceptable.
Medium term, the present 2 inch outfall should be enhanced to allow more water to be discharged into Osney Stream.
Long term, OFA proposes that the surface water drains should be redesigned with the creation of at least a second outfall into the Thames, below the weir pool, south of the EA yard. The surface water drain in the Bridge Street extension should be altered from its present run of south to north (into the South Street ‘sump’) into a new alignment running south, via the EA’s yard, into the Thames, with a pump for high flood events. This would create a second outfall, thereby relieving the South Street run, and the present single outfall at the junction of South and West Streets.
In 2008 Thames Water replaced a poorly-
