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Recent incidents of widespread flooding in Hull and the Midlands have significantly raised the profile of flooding as a national concern. With the Thames, Mole & Wey running through the Borough and instances of fairly widespread flooding in recent years, Elmbridge residents will be well aware of the damage and inconvenience that flooding can cause. There have also been incidents of severe weather conditions that have overwhelmed the drainage infrastructure and led to localised flooding.
The principal types of flooding together with the authority having prime responsibility for dealing with it are as follows:
The Environment Agency is responsible for managing main rivers and their flood defences, and for managing flood risks and the effects of river flooding. The Agency has an important role in warning people about the risks of flooding, and in reducing the likelihood of river flooding. There is a lot of useful information on |the Environment Agency's website, from pre-planning advice to a list of suppliers of kitemark-certified domestic flood prevention products.
Severe weather such as Summer storms can result in flash flooding that can rapidly overwhelm the highway drainage infrastructure. |Surrey County Councill are the Highway Authority responsible for highway maintenance, including clearing blocked highway gullies and responding to highway flooding.
However, flooding problems occurring on motorways or trunk roads (in Elmbridge the M25 and A3) are the responsibility of the
|Highways Agency.
This may occur as a result of a blockage within the public sewerage system or possibly, in times of severe rainfall, because of surface water infiltration to the foul sewers and consequent overload and surcharge. |Thames Water is the sewerage undertaker within the Elmbridge area, responsible for the maintenance of the public sewerage system. But see 'Blocked Foul Drains' (below) before contacting them.
If the drain serving your property is blocked, it is probably your responsibility to get the blockage cleared. Even where the pipe leaves the boundary of your property and runs under the street, it remains your responsibility right up to the point where it connects to the public sewer.
Contact: Private Drainage or Plumbing Contractor
However, there are exceptions: if your house was built before October 1937 (when section 24 of the 1936 Public Health Act became law), and the drain serving your property also drains one or more other houses upstream, this may be the sewerage undertaker's responsibility to maintain. You should check with |Thames Water if you feel this could be the case.
Occasionally, a burst water main may cause flooding to a localised area. A recent example occurred in Thames Ditton. Within Elmbridge there are three water supply companies. Depending where you live, this will be |Three Valleys Water, |Thames Water or |Sutton And East Surrey Water. If you are unsure, your water services bill will tell you which company supplies your water.
Flooding may occur from a watercourse such as a ditch, stream or brook that is blocked. If you live next to a watercourse, you would be classed as a 'riparian owner'. As a riparian owner you have a responsibility to maintain that section of the watercourse that passes your property and to keep it clear from obstructions, so flooding doesn't occur.
Ditches and streams may also flood simply because of excessive volumes of flow during or after extreme weather conditions.
Contact |the Environment Agency or find out about |flooding advice.