Flooding is usually caused by heavy, prolonged, rainfall when watercourses and drains cannot cope with the flow. If the ground is already soaked it can’t absorb the extra water and it runs faster into streams and drains than usual.

In summer, when the ground may be hard and dry, intense thunderstorms can cause localised flash flooding because the water cannot soak into the ground fast enough. There can be other causes of localised flooding, such as burst water mains or a blockage to a stream or culvert.

If floodwater enters your property it may ruin carpets, decorations, furniture, household goods and mains electrical fittings and wiring. Often floodwater will be mixed with raw sewage, as drains overflow, and it will carry and deposit silt.

Flooding can cause great disruption, upheaval and emotional distress. If you are fully insured there should be no problems getting the necessary repairs paid for, but the process can be very lengthy and stressful - drying out the property can take months! Therefore it is important to try and take appropriate precautions to prevent this from happening.

Flood defence

All watercourses, from small streams to major rivers, should be maintained so the threat of flooding is minimised. It is the landowner who is responsible for carrying out this maintenance. If this person, the so-called “riparian owner”, fails to maintain his or her watercourse and as a result flooding takes place, they may be liable to pay compensation, but this can be hard to prove.

The management of the main rivers are overseen by the Environment Agency, which has powers to carry out flood defence work and maintenance. In the case of road drainage and culverts etc, it is the appropriate highway authority who has maintenance responsibility, but watercourses, ditches etc alongside the road, remain the responsibility of the adjacent landowner.

In extreme conditions the capacity of any watercourse or flood defence may simply be overwhelmed and no one can be held responsible for what is effectively an act of nature. If people choose to live on low-lying land near a watercourse, at the bottom of a natural valley or alongside steep slopes that may drain off through their property they must accept an increased risk of flooding and take appropriate precautions.

Date Published: 28/03/08