Discover if a Flood Investigation has taken place in your community, and find out what the cause was.
Flood Investigation Reports Interactive Map
Use the map below to explore any Section 19 Flood Investigation Reports that have been completed or are currently underway in your area. Select any grid cell highlighted as having an S19 report, and a pop‑up will appear with details about the investigation. If the report has been completed, the pop‑up will also include a direct link to the Section 19 report. Click the legend button in the top right of the map to see the symbology types available for the grid cells. For individual grids where more than one report is available, the bottom left of the pop-up displays arrows to navigate between reports.
Please note the Section 19 Flood Investigation locations mapped below represent approximate areas where Section 19 Flood Investigation Reports are completed or under investigation. To protect privacy and ensure data confidentiality, the data has been aggregated using a 0.5 km x 0.5 km hexagon grids. The presence of a hexagon indicates that at least one report exists or is being drafted within that area, but it does not reflect the exact boundaries or severity of flooding in that area.
Submitting information
If you have information that could help us with these investigations, such as your property flooded or photos of the flooding, please submit this to us if you have not already done so.
Our thresholds for doing a formal investigation and report are set out below:
- Internal flooding of five or more residential properties or businesses has been experienced – considering properties within an area of 1km2. Excluding non-habited areas such as cellars, garages or outbuildings.
- Internal flooding of two or more business premises has been experienced – considering premises within an area of 1km2.
- Internal flooding (excluding basements) of at least one property or business been experienced for one week or longer
- Has flooding of one or more items of critical infrastructure, which could include hospitals, health centres, clinics, surgeries, colleges, schools, day nurseries, nursing homes, emergency services (police, fire, ambulance) stations, utilities and substations, been experienced
- Flooding results in critical road or rail routes being impassible for 24 hours. These include motorways, trunk roads and major links, Class A and B highways, critical road may include roads that due to flooding can cut off towns/villages.
Investigations will be undertaken in partnership with the district and city councils, the Environment Agency, other Risk Management Authorities, and the communities and businesses impacted.
Other locations
In areas where flooding has affected properties, businesses, or infrastructure but hasn’t met our criteria for formal investigation and reporting, we or our partners will, where possible, look into the cause of the flooding and suggest measures to mitigate future risks. However, we can’t cover every instance, so we will prioritise formal investigations and reporting.
Updates on recommendations
We are currently developing a communication plan to provide progress updates on the Section 19 reports and their recommendations. We are aiming to provide updates to Parish Councils, Flood Groups, Flood Wardens and local representatives. If you would like to request an update please contact us on floodmanagement@Oxfordshire.gov.uk.
Scope of investigations and reporting
It is important to note that while the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 assigns Oxfordshire County Council, as the Lead Local Flood Authority, the duty to investigate and report on flooding that meets our thresholds, and allows us to make recommendations, it does not provide us with the powers or funding to implement all these recommendations or compel others to do so.
We will work with others to promote and encourage the implementation of these recommendations, but it is for the relevant responsible body or persons to assess each recommendation in terms of the legal obligation, resource implications, priority and cost/benefit.
