Flooding and pollution advice 
We occasionally get heavy rainfall that leads to river pollution or, in rare cases, sewers flooding streets or properties.
Thankfully these incidents are becoming fewer each year as we invest in our infrastructure and find ways of tackling the problem.
Here you can find out what to do if you encounter flooding, who's responsible if flooding occurs and what we're doing to help prevent floods in the future.
What to do if flooding occurs
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Firstly let us know where the flooding is. We like to have as much information as possible so we can respond quickly.
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If flooding occurs inside your property as a result of a public sewer flooding or you see pollution in a watercourse, please call us.
Get the latest flood alerts from the Environment Agency
Flood alerts >
- If flooding occurs outside your property, please wait for the rain to stop as the excess water is likely to drain away as the weather improves. If you're still concerned, contact us.
- If the flooding is coming from a watercourse, such as a river or stream, please contact the Environment Agency on
0800 807060 or
0845 9881188.
If your property has been damaged as a result of flooding, please contact your insurance company for advice. If flooding has occurred inside your home we'll investigate the cause and arrange to clean up litter and debris where appropriate.
If you've had internal flooding that wasn't caused by exceptional rainfall you may be entitled to be reimbursed for your annual sewerage charges. Please read our
Customer Charter leaflet in our Code of Practice section for information on your rights and our responsibilities.
Helping to get your home back to normal (260kb)
One thing you can be sure of if a flood occurs is that your water supply won't be affected. We've developed a water grid that enables us to pipe water across the region to where it's needed most.
Who's responsible for floods?
When floods occur it's understandable that people want to point the finger and look for someone to blame but river and surface water flooding is usually the result of heavy, sustained rainfall. To prevent future flooding in the region we work extremely closely with a number of agencies and authorities to share our knowledge, experiences and develop integrated strategies. Here's a brief summary of who we work with and why:
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Environment Agency
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The Environment Agency has an important role in warning you about the risk of flooding, reducing the likelihood of flooding from rivers and the sea and minimising the impact.
Visit their website for the latest flood warnings or general advice.
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Local Authority
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Your local authority looks after surface water drainage and are responsible for dealing with blocked drains in your area. They also deal with floods which have been caused by blocked grates or gullies.
Find your local authority.
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Ofwat
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The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. We work with them to assess the vulnerability of our assets to flooding and power loss put together measures to improve their resilience.
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Our responsibility
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We're responsible for all of the public sewer systems in the region. However, we're not responsible for private sewers, they are the joint responsibility of each property that drains into it.
Learn more about your public and private sewers and your responsibilities
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What we're doing to help prevent future flooding
We're committed to looking at what we can do to protect the region from future flooding events -
more >
