New drainage system installed to ‘solve’ flooding issue

A NEW drainage system has been installed in a Henley road to help reduce flooding events.

Deanfield Road is prone to flooding because water pools in a natural dip in the undulating road which measures about 30cm deep.

Following periods of rainfall, water covers the pavement and floods gardens while drivers and pedestrians are obstructed.

In December, residents reported the worst flooding in more than 10 years when the water reached 18 inches deep in places.

Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, said previously that the flooding was caused by an issue with the soakaway under the road. This is a pit filled with rubble or hardcore that helps water drain slowly into the soil around it.

Contractors for the council have dug a borehole in a bid to improve the drainage system by increasing the ground capacity to capture excess water.

They have dug 25m deep into the ground and created a cavern to capture excess rainwater and allow it to filter into the surrounding area.

Town and county councillor Stefan Gawrysiak said he was hopeful that the work would provide a permanent solution to the problem. He said: “It’s an inconvenience to the householders around there and also cars have great difficulty in driving down there as well.

“It has been a problem for a number of years and it has actually taken me two years to get this solution. The important thing is that this will take the water off the road and it will seep into the chalk bed over time. We hope that this will solve the problem completely.”

Last month, similar work was carried out in Mill Lane which was also prone to flooding during heavy rainfall.

Cllr Gawrysiak said that the work had already made a noticeable difference. He said: “I have been down there in the last week or so when there has been heavy rain and it seems to be working.”

A spokesman for the county council said: “After thorough cleansing and desilting of the highway drainage apparatus, we are making further improvements within the existing soakaways, utilising boring techniques to improve capacity of the soakaways and reduce time to drain.

“During storm weather events this will reduce both the level of standing water and the duration of the road flooding.”