Harrogate Borough Council
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Roads & Highways - Flooding
A very important feature of road construction is drainage. New
roads include designed drainage systems intended to remove water
efficiently from the surface of the highway to provide a safe
passage for all vehicles and pedestrians.
Older roads may have less sophisticated drainage, but all have
features designed to take the water away from the road surface.
It is necessary to clean and maintain these drainage
provisions so that they can work properly.
Problems can occur even when drainage provisions are clean and
well maintained. Flooded and waterlogged roads result when
the amount of water arriving on the road is greater than the
capacity of the drainage facilities that take it away.
Exceptional rainfall, a road being in a low lying area, changes in
'run off' from adjacent fields and rivers overflowing are some
situations that can lead to the road flooding or being waterlogged
even when drains are in good working order. Material carried
into the drains by floods can also lead to them becoming blocked.
Drainage grills and gratings (for example on gullies)
can become blocked very quickly when materials like mud are
deposited on the road or when there is a heavy fall of
leaves. If a flooded road is caused by a ruptured water main
the water company will be responsible for repairing the
damage.
Water is directed to drains by the road profile. Puddles
(ponding) tend to occur if there is a depression in the road.
This can be rectified where necessary by local patching of the road
surface.
The following notes give guidance on who to contact for
various types of flooding:
Flooding from Public Sewers
Yorkshire
Water own and manage the network of public foul and
surface water sewers. The majority of public sewers are located in
highways. To report an overflowing public sewer, you should
call the Yorkshire
Water Helpline: 0845 1242429.
Flooding from Private Sewers or Drains
If your private drains or sewers are blocked or overflowing,
you will need a drainage contractor to deal with any blockage. See
"Yellow Pages" under "Drain and
Pipe Cleaning". If you are uncertain if any blockage is in the
public or private sewers please contact Environmental Health on:
01423 556633 in the first instance.
Flooding from the Public Highway
For flooding from the public highway or to report
a blocked road gully/grating within Harrogate and Knaresborough contact us
using the form at the bottom of this page. Problems on the
public highway outside Harrogate and Knaresborough should be
reported to North
Yorkshire County Council.
Flooding from a Burst Water Main
The local water supply company is Yorkshire Water.The water company is responsible for
their supply up to and including the water stopcock. To
report a burst or leaking water main, you should call the Yorkshire
Water Helpline: 0845 1242424.
Flooding from a Water Service Pipe or Internal Pipework
This is the responsibility of the homeowner or landlord and
would need the attention of a plumber (see "Yellow Pages" or similar
directories).
Flooding from a Main River
The Environment
Agency has duties and powers affecting main rivers.
Contact: 08708 506 506.
The Environment Agency provide a "
Floodline", which is a 24 hour advice and information service
for floods and flood warnings on 0845 988 1188.
Flooding from Watercourses, other than Main Rivers
Watercourses are the responsibility of riparian owners. You
are a riparian owner if a watercourse is on your property or
land. Riparian owners have a duty to keep the watercourse
clear of any obstruction to flow and the Council can serve legal
notices on riparian owners to deal with obstructions.
Provision of Sandbags to Protect against Flooding
In cases of the threat of flooding and if properties are flooded, we will provide support and guidance to residents. Sandbags will be delivered, where resources allow, at times of emergency.
If your property is at risk of flooding, you should collect empty sandbags in advance by contacting our offices during normal office hours. They are available for collection only from our works depot in Claro Road, Harrogate - numbers will be limited to 10 bags per property. You can buy sand from any local builders' merchant who may also sell sandbags.
At times of emergency, our transport and operatives can be fully stretched and you may not get assistance until it is too late to prevent damage. The sandbags should be stored at your property so that they can be used again.
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