Following your recent coverage of the Environment Agency's planned start of its short-term measures and the release of the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Oxford Flood Partnership (Oxford Mail, May 16), I have a number of comments.

The four problems that affect Earl and Duke Streets, off Botley Road, Oxford, are: 1. The build-up of water in the floodplain north of Botley Road 2. Ground water inundation 3. Lack of outflow from the floodplain south of Botley Road 4. Surface water inundation from the north.

Ground water inundation is the hardest to deal with, unless the water level is reduced across the whole area - this is why we keep banging on about the Redbridge pinch-points.

As we have pointed out repeatedly, we don't need to lower the levels by much to make a significant difference.

We shouldn't let the events of last July take overriding importance and cloud the issue - our greater concern is the trend that has developed since 2000.

July 2007 was unprecedented, but the events of 2000, 2003 and 2008 were all indicators of a general rise in the winter groundwater levels in the floodplain.

The "several tons of sandbags" (the emergency response planned by the city council) or even demountable defences (the Environment Agency's longer-term solution) would do nothing but divert the surface water that overtops Botley Road some time after the groundwater has already risen above many of the floors in Earl Street, mine included.

I will concede that 50mm of water in your house is less destructive than 500.

That said, even 50mm will write off a vulnerable floor and six months of your life while the ground floor resonates to the constant drone of dehumidifiers and fans.

High-visibility, low-impact measures must not be allowed to give the impression that it's "job done".

Outflow from the southern floodplain is still a key issue that must be addressed without further delay.

My fear is that the Environment Agency will spend £1.8m on rearranging the deckchairs while we all sink, then plead poverty when it is forced to admit that the removal of the dam at Redbridge is a vital (but currently missing) component of the short-term strategy.

Nigel Bray, of the Environment Agency, has said on more than one occasion that he was taught very early in his career to address flooding from the bottom up.

I fail to understand the logic, therefore, of tinkering with streams north of Redbridge, when they will rapidly become redundant as the floodwaters back up behind hopelessly inadequate culverts and man-made obstacles, all of which have been identified.

I hope that the new Labour administration will be able to inject a sense of urgency into city council officers, but they need to focus on measures that will make a real difference.

NICK HILLS Earl Street Oxford