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Where to seek help

In times of heavy rain, flooding in our village and surrounding area has become an issue. There are many factors – the obvious being climate change but this is having an effect on the volume of water entering the watercourses in our area and those courses being able to cope with the increased volumes.

Central Bedfordshire Council have dedicated Flooding Help page on their website for anyone suffering from flooding and need help.

You can access that information on their flooding and flood risk management webpage here.

Opposite is a summary of the help numbers to call depending on the type of flooding you are experiencing.

Call 999 if you’re currently being flooded.

Flooding on the highways

We provide and manage highway drainage to keep the roads safe. We are responsible for managing surface water flood risk on roads through maintenance of the highway drainage system.

Report highways flooding online

Telephone: 0300 300 8049

Sewers and drains

This can happen when sewers are overwhelmed by heavy rainfall or when they become blocked, causing them to surcharge. The chance of sewer flooding will depend on the capacity of the local sewerage system and the amount of rain that falls.

In urban areas, surface water flooding and sewer flooding often combine, polluting the floodwater.

For public sewers, please contact Anglian Water or Thames Water.

Anglian Water(link opens in new window)
Telephone: 03457 145 145

Thames Water(link opens in new window)
Telephone: 0800 316 9800

Individuals are responsible for private sewers and drains within their property boundaries.

Water mains

This type of flooding is not related to rainfall but can cause localised disruption to transport and damage to buildings, particularly properties with a basement.

To make a report please contact Anglian Water or Thames Water.

Anglian Water(link opens in new window)
Telephone: 03457 145 145

Thames Water(link opens in new window)
Telephone: 0800 316 9800

Surface water

This is caused when rainwater can’t drain away into natural or man-made systems, instead it collects on the surface in pools or flows over the ground.

Call 999 in an emergency.

To report a situation which is likely to result in flooding, please email [email protected]Please note: this is only monitored during business hours.

Pollution

Pollution in or near a watercourse should be reported directly to the Environment Agency’s incident hotline: 0800 80 70 60.

Flooding from rivers and reservoirs

Flooding from main rivers will occur when the level of water overtops a river’s banks or flood defences, usually caused by long or heavy periods of rain.

To report flooding from rivers and reservoirs, contact the Environment Agency (link opens in new window), call 03459 881 188 / 0800 80 70 60 or email [email protected].

Flooding from ordinary watercourses

These are all watercourses that aren’t labelled as ‘main rivers’ by the Environment Agency (view the Environment Agency’s flood map(link opens in new window)).

The Bedford Group of Internal Drainage Boards(link opens in new window) controls some watercourses, these are shown on the IDB map(link opens in new window). We control other watercourses and you should contact us if the watercourse in question is not on the IDB map.

Riparian owners

If you’re a riparian owner, you are responsible for watercourses on or adjoining your land and should ensure watercourses are working effectively. For advice, please email us on [email protected]Please note: this is only monitored during business hours.

Find out more about your responsibilities as a landowner

Ground water

This happens when water levels in the ground rise above the land surface. It is most likely in areas underlain by permeable rocks such as chalk or sandstone, called ‘aquifers’. This type of flooding can last for weeks or months.

Call 999 in an emergency. To report this please email [email protected]Please note: this is only monitored during business hours.