Flooding

You can find out about flood alerts and warnings in the area by using the tool below:

Report flooding on Hampshire’s roads direct to Hampshire County Council or call 0300 555 1388.

If anyone has concerns about any older or vulnerable people in their community during times of adverse weather, they should call Hampshire County Council's Adults Health and Care service on 0300 555 1386.

Protecting your property from flooding

Flooding can occur because the drainage system - whether open watercourses or pipes - can be overwhelmed by the amount of water. When the ground is saturated, even small amounts of rainfall will have difficulty draining away from gardens and enclosed spaces; and this can often lead to flooding, puddling or ponding.

Households are responsible for taking appropriate action to protect their properties and possessions from flooding. You can check the flood risk in your area on the Government’s website. You can also get information about flooding, including the actions you can take to reduce the risk to your home and which agencies you need to report different types of flooding to, by taking a look at the flooding community toolkit created by Hampshire County Council.

No drainage system or flood defences can give absolute protection against all flooding events. The impact of flooding on a community and the risks it creates can be significant, so when severe rainfall is anticipated the council works closely with the Environment Agency and Hampshire County Council to reduce the risk of flooding within the borough.

Roles and responsibilities

The following provides a summary of the various roles and responsibilities associated with flooding along with details for the organisations who, depending on the circumstances, may be able to offer assistance.

Environment Agency

Responsible for:

• flooding from main rivers
• managing and supervising authority for main rivers
• issuing warnings via Floodline
• maintaining flood maps

Has (permissive) powers to:

• undertake maintenance and improvements
• serve notice on riparian owners to clear obstructions from watercourse

For more information visit the Environment Agency website

Water companies

Thames Water and Southern Water are responsible for:

• flooding from public sewers
• maintenance of public sewerage system (foul and surface water)

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

Are responsible for flooding from ‘ordinary Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council watercourses’ or culverted Community Services (i.e. piped) watercourses.

The council:

• oversees ordinary watercourses
• is the land drainage authority, with (permissive) powers to:
• undertake maintenance and improvements
• serve notice to require riparian owners to clear obstructions from watercourses
• provides advice for dealing with flood situations
• has civil emergency powers to assist during flooding situation
• maintains watercourses where the council is the landowner

Contact us for flooding issues concerning the councils responsibilities

Hampshire County Council

As the highway authority they are responsible for:

• flooding on the highway
• for maintaining drainage system and culverts within and under the highway

They have:

• similar land drainage authority powers as local Council
• civil emergency powers to assist during flooding situation

For further information visit the Hampshire County Council website

Land owner

Has a duty to:

• receive and pass on flow without obstruction, pollution or diversion, including flood flows
• (as riparian owner) maintain bed and banks of watercourses crossing or adjoining land
• not cause obstructions to watercourses
• keep bed, banks and structures clear of matter that could cause obstruction

Property owner / occupier

Responsible for:

• protecting their properties from flooding
• maintaining drains connecting property to public sewer (foul and surface water)

Council assistance

The council has no statutory responsibility to provide sandbags to residents. Each householder is responsible for their own property. If your property is at risk of flooding then please take steps to protect it well before any flooding event. This could be to have a supply of dry sand, suitable bags and ties readily available (Once filled sandbags have a useable life of approximately one year). Or you could install the fittings for temporary flood barriers to protect doors and brick vents.

The council does hold a limited supply of sandbags to deploy to vulnerable residents in the greatest need. When requests for assistance are received they are logged and prioritised. The council cannot guarantee to supply sandbags or supply them within a given time frame. If you are in an area that is covered by a flood warning and need assistance you can contact the council on 01256 844844.

Further information about flooding can be found on the Hampshire County Council emergency flooding webpage.

Guides have been published about flood advice containing practical information on what to do before, during and after a flood on the Environment Agency website.

Land drainage

Land drainage deals with natural flows such as rivers and watercourses. Individual landowners are responsible for the drainage of their own land and for accepting and dealing with natural flows from adjoining land. Land owners (often referred to as riparian owners) are also responsible for the maintenance of watercourse that pass through or join their property.

Further information about your rights and responsibilities as a land owner are outlined the Environment Agency website.

If you have a land drainage or flooding issue and require advice please contact Hampshire County Council, the Lead Local Flood Authority.