We are all at risk of flooding. It could be from heavy rain, a burst water pipe, blocked drain, overloaded sewer, flooded road, flooded river, rising groundwater or other source.

Some properties are more at risk than others and some flooding incidents can be so sudden or extreme that they are beyond prevention.

When flooding is forecast or occurs, there are various organisations you can turn to for help and these are detailed below.

Highway flooding

Contact Nottingham City Council’s Highway Maintenance team. Tel 0115 915 2161 Local traffic information is available on www.itsnottingham.info/menu

Public sewer flooding / burst water main flooding

Contact Severn Trent Water – tel. 0800 783 4444 www.stwater.co.uk/

“Main River” flooding

Main rivers are owned by the owners of their banks (riparion owners), but are managed by the Environment Agency.

Contact the Environment Agency’s floodline. Tel 0845 988 1188

Main Rivers in the Nottingham area include The Trent, The Leen, The Day Brook The Tottle Brook (downstream of Bramcote Lane) and the Fairham Brook (lower section)

Flood risk maps have been produced by the Environment Agency. These maps indicate areas where there is a risk of flooding from main rivers. These maps can be viewed on www.environment-agency.gov.uk/floodline

“Ordinary Watercourse” flooding

Ordinary watercourses are small rivers and streams which are not managed by the Environment Agency. They are the responsibility of the owners of their banks (riparian owners).

However, Nottingham City Council clears debris from many of the grills / trash screens on ordinary watercourses.

Contact Nottingham City Council’s Drainage Team. Tel 0115 915 6650

Flooding from private land or private drains and sewers is the responsibility of the owner(s) of the land or private drains and sewers.

Flooding from Rising Groundwater

Groundwater refers to water present in underground strata. Rising groundwater can flood cellars, basements and voids below floors. This is a natural phenomena. Nottingham City Council can provide advice, but dealing with groundwater flooding is the responsibility of the property owner.

Life threatening extreme emergencies

Contact the Emergency services. Tel. 999

It must be remembered that very extreme weather can cause flooding which is beyond the realistic prevention of any organisation or individual.

The following link will take you to weather warnings from the meteorological office: www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/

Imminent flooding

Hopefully, if you are in need of help, assistance will arrive in time. However, this may not always be possible for several reasons including:

- A flooding event could occur with very little warning and outside normal working hours, in which case there would be fewer (non-emergency services) personnel available to help.

- Rescue / assistance vehicles may have difficulty getting to you if roads are flooded or gridlocked.

- Many requests for help may be received at the same time, overwhelming available resources.

Self Help

If you think your property is at risk of flooding, you may wish to make your own emergency plan.

You could consider having your own flood protection measures ready and waiting, such as a store of sand and sand bags.

Alternatively, you could consider proprietary flood protection products such as barriers for doorways and air bricks. These products are usually more effective than sand bags. They may also be quicker to install and easier to handle.

“Blue Pages” is a directory of flood protection product manufacturers. It is available from the Flood Forum’s web site www.floodforum.org.uk

You should not attempt to protect your property from water higher than 0.9 metres (three feet). A difference in water pressure greater than 0.9 metres, between the inside and outside of your property, could result in serious structural damage.

Sandbags

Sand and sandbags should be purchased before they are needed, as supplies are likely to sell out if a flood is immanent.

Sandbags purchased in advance could end up being stored for a long time (if flooding does not occur). It is therefore worth considering their shelf life and purchasing rot resistant Hessian, or UV stabilised plastic.

Nottingham City Council keep a limited supply of sand and sandbags in stock for our own use. We do not guarantee being able to provide sandbags to the public in an emergency. We will try to help, but we may not be able to reach properties quickly enough and we may need to prioritise our limited resources to those in greatest need.

Where sandbags are issued to an individual, that individual must accept responsibility for their use and disposal.

Sandbags which have been in contact with flood water should be treated as contaminated waste and should be disposed of accordingly.

It should be noted that sandbags are only partially effective in holding back flood water. Water will still seep through sandbag walls.

However, provided they are positioned well and are not overtopped, they can help to direct the flow of water and can help to filter out undesirable material floating in the flood water.

Guidance on the use of sand bags:

• Protective gloves and a shovel will be required.
  
  
• Two people will be needed, one to hold the bag open and one to shovel sand into the bag.
  
  
• Fill the bags as close to where they are needed as possible.
  
  
• Only half fill the bags. They will be heavy, especially if wet.
  
  
• Place the sandbags lengthways and parallel to the direction of water flow.
  
  
• Tuck the open end of the bag underneath the bag, pointing in the direction of the water flow.
  
  
• Build up the height of the sandbag wall in layers, overlapping the layer beneath by half (the same pattern as brickwork).
  
  
• If the sandbag wall needs to be more than three layers high, it will need to be constructed with a wider base and built up in a pyramid shape.
  
  
• When the flood has passed, care should be taken dismantling the sand bag wall. The sandbags may be dirty and contaminated. They will be heavy and may fall apart when moved.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that these notes are correct, their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. If you have any comments, or are aware of errors, please contact Paul Daniels tel. 0115 915 6236 or email paul.daniels@nottinghamcity.gov.uk