Winchester Flood Barriers Could Come Down Next Week

12 March 2014, 07:27 | Updated: 12 March 2014, 07:28

The Environment Agency says flood barriers and sandbags will remain in place in Winchester and Romsey until at least next week.

The levels of the Rivers Itchen and Test have subsided but groundwater levels are still high.

A temporary flood barrier has been in place across the flooded Park Avenue in Winchester (above) since February.

Mike O'Neill from the Environment Agency (EA) said:

"The barriers will be staying there for at least the next week. We'll be reviewing as we go through this week, as we get a clearer pictutre of what's going to happen with the weather.

"The levels are falling very slowly across the county. We're monitoring the barriers and the river levels daily, but we're still expecting those areas to be affected through groundwater flooding for at least the next month and potentially even longer.

"The fields are all still very wet, the water's still pouring out.

"If we get a wet week with small amounts each day, or several days of intense rainfall, we will be back into increased flood risk and property being at risk."

Fishlake Meadow, Romsey

The picture in Hambledon is also improving. A huge pumping operation's been going on since January. The roads are now dry but the main route West Street is still shut because of pipework running across.

Mike said:

"We're expecting, in over a couple of weeks' time, to remove the groundwater flood alert if the conditions remain favourable."

Hambledon