Flooding of drains and gullies

The Council is responsible for 13,400 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.

We have a gully cleansing vehicle working full time. It is able to clear blocked gullies within 48hrs (weekdays only), providing they are accessible and not parked over. Where parked cars obstruct gullies a car lifter is employed.

Roads that other agencies are responsible for

Transport for London is responsible for the maintenance of road gullies on red routes in the borough. These are:

• A2 (New Cross Road)
• A202 (Queens Road)
• Kender Street
• Besson Street
• A20 (Lewisham Way, Loampit Hill, Lewisham High Street (Part), Lee High Road)
• A21 (Molesworth Street, Lewisham High Street (Part), Rushey Green, Bromley Road, Bromley Hill)
• A205 (South Circular Road).

Parkman, acting as steward for TfL, manages the gully maintenance works which are carried out by TfL's contractor McNicholas Construction.

If a flooded road is caused by a ruptured water main, Thames Water will be responsible for repairing the damage.

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 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 0800 714 614.

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. They should be able to determine this and recharge you the cost of any work undertaken.

Flooding from the public highway

For flooding from the public highway or reporting blocked road gullies or gratings, contact us using the details below.

Flooding from a burst water main

Thames Water are responsible for their supply up to and including the water stopcock.

Flooding from a water service pipe or internal pipework

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, which can be contacted on 0845 933 3111. 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.

Drainage systems

Drainage is a very important feature of road construction. New roads include designed drainage systems intended to remove water efficiently from the surface of the highway to provide a safe passage for all vehicles and pedestrians.

All roads have features designed to take the water away from the road surface. However, on older roads these may be less sophisticated.

On some of Lewisham’s older roads the gullies are what is termed ‘soak aways’ designed for the water to soak away into the ground beneath. These gullies are not connected to the sewage system.

Connecting these gullies to the sewage system is very costly and the Council will only do this work where the old ‘soak away’ gullies are clearly no longer adequate.

Reasons why gully flooding occurs

Gully flooding after heavy rainfall can occur for the following reasons:

• the gully is blocked with debris such as silt, concrete, asphalt - the highways team aim to clear reported blocked road gullies within 48hrs
• 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
• the Thames Water public sewers cannot cope with the intensity of the rainstorm and sewage backs up and out of the gullies causing flooding
• flooded and waterlogged roads result when the amount of water arriving on the road is greater than the capacity of the drainage facilities that take it away
• water is directed to drains by the road profile. Puddles (ponding) tend to occur if there is a depression in the road - this can be rectified where necessary by local patching of the road surface.

FAQs

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.