Flood Warning Issued for Groundwater in Wylye Valley, Wiltshire

Alert Details

The Environment Agency has issued a Flood Warning (Severity Level 2) for groundwater flooding in the Wylye Valley. This alert indicates that while groundwater levels in Salisbury Plain are beginning to fall, they remain significantly high, posing a continued risk to the region.

Affected Areas

The warning covers several locations within the Wessex area of Wiltshire, specifically including:

• Kingston Deverill
• Monkton Deverill
• Hill Deverill
• Longbridge Deverill
• Crockerton
• Norton Bavant
• Heytesbury
• Corton
• Upton Lovell
• Boyton
• Sherrington
• Stockton
• Bapton

What You Should Do

Residents in the affected areas are advised to take the following precautions:

• Prepare property resilience measures immediately.
• Ensure that any installed flood pumps are in good working order.
• Be prepared for the potential inundation of septic tanks and sewer systems.
• Monitor cellars for signs of flooding.
• Exercise extreme caution when driving on flooded roads to ensure personal safety and to prevent bow waves from flooding adjacent properties. Be aware that road surfaces may have been damaged by standing floodwater.

Expected Conditions

Groundwater levels at the Tilshead MOD borehole were recently recorded at 106.32m. Although levels are currently falling, the forecast remains unsettled with moderate rainfall expected. This additional precipitation may cause the currently falling groundwater levels to respond and rise again. Residents should expect flooding of roads and potential flooding in property cellars.

Timeline

The alert was officially raised on March 12, 2026, at 1:23 PM. The Environment Agency is monitoring the situation closely and expects to provide a formal update on these conditions by 2:00 PM on March 19, 2026.