Report flooding or drain problems
Responsibility for floods depends on where they occur. Find out who is responsible for the different types.
- How to check if your drain is blocked
- Council tenants
- Private tenants and homeowners
- Flooding from overflowing sewers
- Flooding from a burst water main
- Flooding from a main river
- Flooding from a local river
- Flooding on public highways, gullies and drains
- Report a damaged or missing drain cover
- How we monitor local flooding
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.
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 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.
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.