Flood risk: Ambert alert issued due to rising groundwater along River Pang

The Environment Agency has issued a flood alert for communities located along the River Pang due to rising groundwater levels.

Rural communities could soon be affected by further flooding from East Ilsley to Pangbourne including Compton, Hampstead Norreys, Frilsham, Bucklebury, Stanford Dingley, Bradfield, Tidmarsh and the Sulham Brook from Theale to Pangbourne, including Sulham.

Statistics by the Pang Valley Flood Forum show groundwater levels are now at 91 per cent and could soon mirror levels seen in 2014 — the last time serious flooding hit the district.

Carolyne Culver (Green, Ridgeway), the flood warden for East Ilsley, said: “We’ve had an amber alert from the Environment Agency for groundwater in place for a number of days now.

“We’ve got a slightly different issue here to the River Lambourn and Kennet last weekend.

“Water continues to rise out of the ground even though there is no rainfall at the moment.

“We’ve got lots of lakes forming in fields. You can actually see the route of the old Pang River going through the fields now the water is on the move.

“The ditches and the ponds are getting quite high. A lot of drains have been reported.

“It’s just a waiting game. There’s only so much the council and local landowners can do.”

On Friday 12, the Environment Agency stated: “Groundwater levels are higher than normal for this time of year and have now reached a level where communities may now be affected by flooding from groundwater.

“Low-lying land, gardens, roads and cellars will therefore continue to be at risk of flooding.”

It added that due to the nature of groundwater behaviour, the situation could continue for several weeks or longer.

At least four homes have been pumping water from their cellars at East Ilsley since last Sunday.

Publican, Sarah Batchelor, who runs the Crown & Horns in East Ilsey, said she discovered water in the pub cellar while changing a barrel.

She said: “We’ve still got water pouring in quite visibly, but our pump is working.

“All the houses around us have got pumps and water running out into the streets, so we’re still under flood watch.

“The water is rising constantly so we could still be affected.”

Flooding shut the pub for a week and caused damage to some equipment. It is now open to serve food.

Mrs Culver added: “Data for groundwater has been collected for about 22 years around here.

“So, we’ve got a monthly record going back and this is currently the fourth worst month in that period.

“The only three months which were worse were February, March and April 2014.

“People need to be prepared for the worst but hope for the best.”

Residents are advised to avoid using low-lying footpaths near local watercourses and to be aware of flooding on roads, particularly during colder conditions.