New flood wardens are sought to be the eyes and ears of their communities
An appeal has been issued for volunteers to help their communities understand flood risks and responsibilities by becoming flood wardens.
Oxfordshire County Council has extended its flood warden scheme to cover the whole county following successful pilot projects in Witney, Ascott-under-Wychwood, Abingdon and Sunningwell.
There is no set number of hours required, and flood wardens can volunteer according to their own schedule.
Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “Flood wardens are our eyes and ears on the ground and report things liked blocked ditches and drains so that we can resolve these issues before a flood event can occur. As extreme weather becomes a more common occurrence, their role becomes so much more important.
“We are so grateful to all the county’s volunteers, whose hard work and local knowledge does so much to keep their communities safe. I would like to thank our existing flood wardens for their efforts and invite more people to join them in improving the situation in the places where they live.”
Flood wardens are members of the local community. They can be individuals, representatives of the parish council or existing community resilience volunteers, highway wardens or police volunteers.
William Wareing, Chairman and Trustee of the Witney Flood Group, has been a flood warden since April 2023 and is the coordinator of the town’s seven-strong flood wardens group.
Mr Wareing said: “My home was flooded in 2007 and 2020. Although I have since moved to a safer location, I feel passionate about making a difference to others who are unable to move out of the high flood risk zone.
“I wanted us to establish a flood warden community through our involvement in the joint risk management agencies’ working party that formed after the 2020 floods. This is very closely tied with our charity, the Witney Flood Group, which was also formed after the 2020 floods, to help us build a community, support and educate, and make a difference to the conditions locally.
“Ultimately the flood wardens project is another piece of the puzzle in the solutions we seek to reduce the risk of flooding in the area.”
The council will support flood wardens in their role and provide the necessary training. All flood wardens undergo an informal one-hour call prior to signing the agreement to help them understand the role in more detail.
Mr Wareing added: “We engage with the community, report issues to the responsible authorities and create community emergency flood plans and keep in touch with each other and support each other. My role involves coordinating our wardens, increasing their knowledge and expertise, and making sure that specific high risk locations are the priority, and making them known to the community.
“Our flood wardens attend public events, learn about river management, hold conversations with both the responsible authorities and our residents and business owners. We held two public events in September, conducted a full survey of the River Windrush with evidence of photos, locations and identified any poor levels of maintenance we want to see improved.
“We plan to engage directly with riparian landowners next to encourage them to improve maintenance standards on land they own adjacent to a watercourse. We can also help them directly with light maintenance work and are set up for that now.
“Becoming a flood warden is about building a community, helping each other, representing and supporting those less fortunate or able to, and raising awareness of the flood risk issues we face across Oxfordshire,” he said.
“In our experience so far, people at risk of flooding are the strongest contenders for becoming flood wardens, as well as those with experience or interest in the subject.”
Anyone wanting to become a flood warden can read more and sign up through the county council’s Oxfordshire flood toolkit.
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