Water and sewerage companies are responsible for managing the risk of flooding from public sewers and utility pipes. Check out our resource on ‘Sewers, Blockages and Flooding,’ here for more information. It is important that only the 3 P’s are flushed down the toilet (paper, pee and poo), any other unsuitable items or fat, oil and grease (FOG) can lead to blockages and flooding. It can be dangerous as contaminated sewage may end up in properties or rivers. Heavy rainfall can also contribute to overloading the sewerage system, especially when there are blockages. Sewer flooding incidents usually happen as a result of blockages caused by the misuse of the sewerage system, for example by flushing unsuitable items down the toilet.

In the UK, over 3 million properties are at risk from surface water flooding, compared to 2.7 million at risk from rivers and the sea. You can also find out who your LLFA is by entering your postcode on the Environment Agency’s ‘Long Term Flood Risk Information service’ here.įACT: Surface water flooding threatens more people and properties than any other form of flood risk. You should report this type of flooding to your LLFA which will either be the District Council, provided it is a Unitary Authority, or the County Council. The Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) is responsible for managing the risk of flooding from surface water and producing local flood risk management strategies, as well as investigating and producing a Section 19 report for flooding incidents when deemed necessary. This type of flooding can be worsened by blocked road gullies, sewers, and drains, as well as saturated land and increased hard surfaces. Pluvial flooding, also referred to as surface water flooding, happens when the amount of rainfall exceeds the drainage capacity of surface water sewers and drains, causing water to accumulate on land instead of being absorbed.

Areal flood map