Drains and gullies flooding

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We have a responsibility to clear roads and to drain water off roads.

• Report a problem with drain or gully flooding online
• Advice for home or business flooding

Roads have features designed to take surface water off the road, including drains, gullies, grips and ditches. Exceptional rainfall, runoff from adjacent land, and rising river levels can cause roads to flood even when the drainage is in good working order.

We regularly clean out carriageway gullies that collect the water from the road, and arrange special visits by gully tankers to respond to sudden blockages. Gullies are cleaned out at least once a year, more often in problem areas.

Highway drainage problems are identified by the regular inspections of the network, by calls to the highways department, or as a result of calls from the public or local councils, and appropriate action is taken to deal with the identified problems.

Sometimes flooding is caused by burst water mains, and the relevant water company is responsible for repairing these.

The drainage ditches alongside rural roads are usually the responsibility of the adjoining landowner to maintain. The highway authority has the right to discharge water into them.

Landowners should ensure that ditches and watercourses are properly maintained in order to reduce the risk of flooding which we monitor as the land drainage authority.

Last updated: 16 February 2011