Who is responsible for flooding?

Many different agencies work to manage and prevent flooding. Find out who is responsible for what during a flood.

What are we responsible for?

As a wastewater company, it’s our responsibility to make sure our customers can continue to use their wastewater services.

Our priority is to keep our sewers flowing and manage the flows they are built to carry to prevent flooding. This can include waste from toilets, sinks, showers and washing machines, as well as rainwater from roofs and driveways. In other words, all the water that ends up in your drains that we take away from your home via the sewage system.

We're not responsible for investigating groundwater, river flooding or surface water problems. This is the role of other agencies.

Why do wastewater floods happen?

We do our best to prevent flooding and most of the time, it’s a block in the sewer that’s the culprit. However, the impacts of population growth and climate change mean our network sometimes struggles to handle the millions of litres of floodwater that pass through it.

We work closely with other organisations to prevent flooding. Use the interactive infographic below to get an idea of who is responsible for what and where we fit in.

A diagram showing the flood responsibilities

Surface water flooding

Surface water flooding is usually caused by heavy rainfall. Local flood authorities (county councils or unitary authorities) manage the risk of surface water flooding.

Groundwater flooding

Groundwater flooding happens when underground water rises to the surface. Local flood authorities (county councils or unitary authorities) manage the risk of groundwater flooding.

Private drainage (surface water)

Private surface water drainage pipes are the responsibility of the homeowner.

Private drainage (foul)

Flooding from private foul drainage is the responsibility of the homeowner up to the point it connects with the public sewer. This is usually at the boundary of the property.

Public foul sewers

Water and sewerage companies, like ourselves, manage the risks of flooding from foul or combined sewers that serve buildings and yards.

Highway drainage

The local highway authority (county councils or unitary authorities) is responsible for highway drainage and gullies on the roads they maintain. Highways England is responsible for highway drainage on trunk roads and motorways.

Public surface water sewers

Water and sewerage companies, like ourselves, manage the risks of flooding from public surface water sewers (where these exist) serving buildings and yards.

River and coastal flooding

The Environment Agency manages flood risk from main rivers and the sea and also monitors the quality of watercourses. The lead local flood authority (county councils or unitary authorities) manage flood risk from ordinary watercourses. These are any watercourse that isn't part of a main river. Internal Drainage Boards manage water levels of ordinary watercourses in areas known as internal drainage districts. Riparian owners have certain legal rights and responsibilities to maintain watercourses (including drainage ditches) which run through or adjacent to their land or property.

Surface water flooding

Surface water flooding is usually caused by heavy rainfall. Local flood authorities (county councils or unitary authorities) manage the risk of surface water flooding.

Groundwater flooding

Groundwater flooding happens when underground water rises to the surface. Local flood authorities (county councils or unitary authorities) manage the risk of groundwater flooding.

Private drainage (surface water)

Private surface water drainage pipes are the responsibility of the homeowner.

Private drainage (foul)

Flooding from private foul drainage is the responsibility of the homeowner up to the point it connects with the public sewer. This is usually at the boundary of the property.

Public foul sewers

Water and sewerage companies, like ourselves, manage the risks of flooding from foul or combined sewers that serve buildings and yards.

Highway drainage

Public surface water sewers

Water and sewerage companies, like ourselves, manage the risks of flooding from public surface water sewers (where these exist) serving buildings and yards.

River and coastal flooding

Who is responsible for putting everything right after a flood?

After a flood, different agencies are responsible for recovery activities. The list below shows who handles different aspects of flood recovery and what emergency interventions we can carry out when there is a flood.

Cleaning up public areas

Replacing missing or dislodged manholes: water companies
Controlling access to water hydrant use: water companies
Removing silt and sewer debris from public sewers and pumping stations: water companies
Washing silt and sewer debris from streets: Highways Authority
Cleaning highway debris, gullies and drainage ditches: Highways Authority
Washing and removing silt and sewer debris from open spaces: Local Authority
Disposing of flood-damaged property: Local Authority
Removing sandbags: Local Authority
Removing litter from watercourses: Environment Agency
Pumping flood water from public areas: Environment Agency.

Cleaning up properties

If your property has been flooded by water from our sewers we'll clean up as soon as possible. It's also important to contact your insurers, who may agree to make alternative clean-up arrangements.

For all other flooding use the list below:

Internal cleaning of insured properties: insurance companies
External cleaning (e.g. gardens and drives) of insured properties: insurance companies
Providing dehumidifiers or driers to insured properties: insurance companies
Internal cleaning of non-insured properties: private owners
External cleaning (e.g. gardens and drives) of non-insured properties: private owners
Providing dehumidifiers or driers to non-insured properties: private owners
Restoring septic tanks: private owners
Pumping out flooded properties: insurance companies and private owners
Restoring allotments and food crops: insurance companies and private owners.

Restoring utilities

Restoring free-flowing public sewers: water companies
Restoring public wastewater pumping stations: water companies
Restoring internal electricity to insured properties: insurance companies and private owners
Restoring free-flowing private drainage: private owners
Restoring private wastewater pumping stations: private owners
Restoring internal electricity to non-insured properties: private owners
Restoring telecoms: telecoms companies
Restoring gas supply: gas companies
Restoring electricity to property meter or fuse box: electricity companies
Assessing the impact of flooding on roads, footpaths and rail: water companies, Environment Agency, Highway Authority, Local Authority, electricity companies, gas companies, telecoms companies.

Handling groundwater flooding

Preventing groundwater flooding: Local Authority
Approving the pumping of groundwater into watercourses: Environment Agency.

Welfare during recovery

Providing and maintaining toilet facilities: Local Authority
Providing accommodation for displaced residents during clean-up: insurance companies, Local Authority, private owners
Security for property: Police.

Communications

Providing sewer flooding advice leaflets: water companies
Chairing strategic recovery group and local meetings: Local Authority
Sourcing suitable location and welfare for recovery teams: Local Authority
Local co-ordination of agencies: Local Authority
Providing health leaflets: Local Authority
Giving insurance advice: insurance companies.

Tankering

We respond to emergencies by ‘tankering’ – pumping wastewater from a sewer into a tanker lorry and taking it away for treatment.

This helps to keep the sewers flowing, so they can deal with wastewater from homes and businesses. This is the job they are designed to do and it helps protect customers' properties from being flooded internally.

Over-pumping

Where more help is needed, we carry out over-pumping. This involves pumping heavily diluted wastewater from sewers through a screening system before releasing it into nearby rivers, streams or ditches.

Over-pumping is necessary to protect properties and can move large volumes of water quickly. Over-pumping roughly moves 50 to 60 litres a second compared with a couple of litres a second for a tanker.

Biological treatment tanks will improve the quality of the floodwater pumped from our sewers.

Treatment tanks

Working with Atac Solutions Limited, we developed new transportable biological treatment tanks. These use bacteria to treat the water from our pumps on site before it is recycled to local watercourses.

Each tank can improve the quality of the water we treat by as much as 40%. They also allow more oxygen to be applied during the treatment process. This helps maintain the natural balance of rivers for local wildlife.

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Who is responsible for flooding?

What are we responsible for?

Why do wastewater floods happen?

Surface water flooding

Groundwater flooding

Private drainage (surface water)

Private drainage (foul)

Public foul sewers

Highway drainage

Public surface water sewers

River and coastal flooding

Surface water flooding

Groundwater flooding

Private drainage (surface water)

Private drainage (foul)

Public foul sewers

Highway drainage

Public surface water sewers

River and coastal flooding

Who is responsible for putting everything right after a flood?

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