The Council is responsible for approximately 16,000 gullies on public roads that drain surface water from the highway.
Cleaning gullies
Roads that the Council is responsible for
The Council's contractor, FM Conway, cleans and checks the gullies that we are responsible for.
Roads that other agencies are responsible for
Transport for London (external website) is responsible for the maintenance of road gullies on red routes in the borough. These are:
- A2 (New Cross Road, Deptford Broadway)
- A202 (Queens Road)
- Kender Street
- Besson Street
- A20 (Lewisham Way, Loampit Hill, Loampit Vale, Lewisham High Street (Part), Lee High Road, Eltham Road)
- A21 (Molesworth Street, Lewisham High Street (Part), Rushey Green, Bromley Road, Bromley Hill)
- A205 (South Circular Road).
If a gully is blocked on a TfL road, this should be reported to their Customer Services Team on 0845 3051234.
Who to contact to report flooding
The following notes give guidance on who to contact for various types of flooding.
Flooding from public sewers
Thames Water (external website) own and manage the network of public foul and surface water sewers. To report an overflowing public sewer, you should call Thames Water Customer Services on 0845 9200800.
Flooding from private sewers or drains
If your private drains or sewers are overflowing, you will need a drainage contractor to deal with any blockage. You can find one on the Yellow Pages website under 'Drain and Pipe Cleaning'. If you are uncertain whether any blockage has occurred in the public or private sewers, contact Thames Water.
Flooding from the public highway
For flooding on the public highway or reporting blocked road gullies or gratings, contact us using the details below.
Gully flooding after heavy rainfall can occur for the following reasons:
- The gully is blocked with debris such as silt, concrete or asphalt
- The pipe connecting the road gully to the main sewer has been damaged - we regularly find that a utility company has damaged or removed a section of pipe during excavation works
- Thames Water public sewers cannot cope with the intensity of the rainstorm and sewage backs up and out of the gullies causing flooding.
Flooding from a burst water main
Thames Water are responsible for their supply up to and including the water stopcock.
Flooding from a private water service pipe or drain
This is the responsibility of the homeowner or landlord and would need the attention of a plumber.
Flooding from a main river
The main rivers are the responsibility of the Environment Agency (external website), which can be contacted on 08708 506506. In addition, the Agency provides 'Floodline', a 24 hour advice and information service for floods and flood warnings on 0845 988 1188.
Flooding from watercourses other than main rivers
Watercourses, other than main rivers, are the responsibility of riparian owners. You are a riparian owner if your property or land is on, or very near, a watercourse.
Riparian owners have a duty to keep the watercourse clear of any obstruction to flow and the Council can serve legal notices on riparian owners to deal with obstructions.
Certain 'strategic' watercourses that are known to pose a high risk of property flooding if they become blocked are checked and maintained by the Council's contractor on a regular basis.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Council provide sandbags to protect against flooding? The Council has a limited supply of sandbags for residents to enable them to protect their homes from flooding. These are distributed via our contractor.
However we recommend that residents whose homes are at a high risk of flooding obtain sandbags from a builders' merchant to enable early preparation.
See our coping with emergencies page for further details.
Water is ponding in my road. Who should I report it to? If you notice water ponding on the road or the pavement please contact us using the details below or by using the online Street Fault report form.
Water seems to be leaking from private land onto the road/pavement. Who should I report it to? If you notice water leaking onto the road or the pavement from private land please contact us using the details below or by using the online Street Fault report form.
We will investigate the source of the leak and ensure that whoever is responsible arranges for it to be repaired.