Report flooding or drain problems

How to check if your drain is blocked

Usually you will know your drain is blocked if your toilet does not flush through properly and there will probably be a foul smell. You should check if this is caused by low water pressure, which is a different problem that your water company is likely to be able to help with.

Council tenants

To report a blocked sewer or drain on a council housing estate or in a council house or flat, call housing repairs and maintenance on 020 8592 7388 or email housing.repairs@lbbd.gov.uk.

Private tenants and homeowners

If your property is privately owned and your drain or sewer is overflowing, you or your landlord must arrange for a drainage contractor to deal with any blockage. If there is flooding from a water service pipe or internal pipework, you or your landlord should contact a plumber.

Outside of your property boundary, the responsibility for blockages lies with either Thames Water, for sewerage, and Essex and Suffolk Water for water mains, as explained below.

Flooding from overflowing sewers

To report an overflowing sewer, contact Thames Water, or call 0800 316 9800.

Flooding from a burst water main

The local water supply company is Essex and Suffolk Water, responsible for its supply up to and including the water stopcock. Call 0800 526 337 to report a leak or flood from a burst water main.

Flooding from a main river

The main rivers are the responsibility of the Environment Agency. Contact Floodline to report flooding from a main river.

Floodline

0345 988 1188

Floodline type talk (for the hard of hearing)

0345 602 6340

Flooding from a local river

We manage the following watercourses:

•    Thamesview dyke (Barking)
•    Ripple road nature reserve ditch (Barking)
•    Scrattons Farm Echo Park ditch (Barking)
•    Gores Brook (in Goresbrook Park only, Dagenham)

Use our form to report flooding from one of these rivers.To use the form, you need to be signed in to your Barking and Dagenham council My Account. If you don’t have one, you can register for My Account.

Report flooding from a local river

Flooding on public highways, gullies and drains

A highway gully or drain is a drainage pit usually covered by an open metal grating at the edge of the road. Its purpose is to drain rainwater from the highway into the sewerage system.

Blocked drains

If a drain appears to be blocked after heavy rain, give it some time for the water to drain away before reporting it. If it is blocked after a while, then you can report it.

If you report a blocked drain, defects that are hazardous or serious will be prioritised. Hazardous defects will be repaired within 24 hours and serious defects will be repaired within 7 days.

Hazardous defects in drains

If a blocked drain or gully has flooded the public highway, we aim to clear it within 24 hours of your report to us. If a drain cover is damaged or missing, we’ll make it safe within 24 hours of your report.

Other drain defects

We aim to repair other defects that are not serious or hazardous within 28 working days. We don’t have the resources to repair every defect within that timescale, so we prioritise the more serious and potentially dangerous defects.

Use our form to report flooding on public highways, gullies and drains. To use the form, you need to be signed in to your Barking and Dagenham council My Account. If you don’t have one, you can register for My Account.

Report flooding

Check the progress of your report

You can also report flooding using My Account. My Account allows you to track the progress of all your reports in one place. If you don’t have one, you can create a My Account.

Report a damaged or missing drain cover

Use our form to a damaged or missing drain cover. To use the form, you need to be signed in to your Barking and Dagenham council My Account. If you don’t have one, you can register for My Account.

Report a damaged or missing drain cover

Check the progress of your report

You can also report a damaged or missing drain cover using My Account. My Account allows you to track the progress of all your reports in one place. If you don’t have one, you can create a My Account.

How we monitor local flooding

As well as the reporting methods described above, we also want to know about your experiences of flooding. Understanding more about which areas of the borough are at the highest flood risk is important to us.

We'd appreciate your help by reporting any previous flooding you've encountered, from any source and in any location. This will help us build up our knowledge of areas subject to flooding and assist us in targeting our flood risk management resources effectively. 

We welcome input from residents and businesses by downloading and completing the flooding information form‌ and returning to BECC@lbbd.gov.uk. This does not replace the reporting procedures above.

Flooding information form