Responsibility depends on where the flood water is coming from. This could be a river, reservoir, ditch, surface water, sewer, road or private land.
Use the information below to find the source of the flooding and the organisation responsible for dealing with it.
Who is responsible for flooding from rivers, reservoirs and watercourses?
Main rivers and reservoirs
The Environment Agency is responsible for managing flood risk from main rivers and reservoirs.
Use the Environment Agency's main river map to check whether a watercourse is classed as a main river.
The Environment Agency or the landowner may be responsible, depending on the source of the flooding.
Call the Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60. It is open 24 hours a day.
Balancing ponds and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS)
The landowner or management company is usually responsible for maintaining balancing ponds and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS).
If you live on a newer development, the developer or management company should be able to tell you who is responsible.
Ditches and other watercourses
If a ditch or watercourse is within or next to private land, the landowner is usually responsible for maintaining it.
If it is not on private land, responsibility may sit with an Internal Drainage Board.
You can check whether your area is covered by an Internal Drainage Board.
Who is responsible for surface water flooding?
Surface water flooding happens when rainwater cannot drain away and flows over the ground.
Landowners are responsible for private drains, gutters and downpipes within their property boundary.
Water can naturally flow from higher land to lower land. Problems caused by the natural flow of water between private properties are usually a civil matter between the landowners.
Central Bedfordshire Council can provide advice about surface water flooding, but the council is not necessarily responsible for resolving flooding on private land.
Who is responsible for flooding from sewers?
Responsibility for sewer flooding depends on whether the drain or sewer serves only your property or is shared with other properties.
Private drains and sewers
You are responsible for drains and sewers within your property boundary that serve only your property.
You may need to contact a drainage contractor if there is a blockage or another problem.
Shared sewers
Water companies are responsible for shared sewers and some surface water drainage pipes.
Depending on where you live in Central Bedfordshire, contact:
- Anglian Water or call 0345 7145 145
- Thames Water or call 0800 316 9800
Who is responsible for flooding from roads?
Responsibility for flooding from a road depends on whether it is a motorway, trunk road, adopted road or private road.
Motorways and trunk roads
National Highways is responsible for drainage and flooding issues on motorways and major trunk roads.
Contact National Highways if flooding is coming from one of these roads.
Adopted roads in Central Bedfordshire
Central Bedfordshire Council is responsible for drainage problems affecting adopted roads that we maintain.
Report a roads and highways problem.
Private and unadopted roads
Central Bedfordshire Council is not responsible for maintaining private or unadopted roads.
The landowner, developer or organisation responsible for maintaining the road will usually be responsible for drainage problems.
What to do if you do not know where the flooding is coming from
It may not be obvious where flood water is coming from or which organisation is responsible.
If you need advice, give us as much information as you can about the flooding, including:
- where the flooding is
- where you think the water is coming from
- when it started
- whether a property or road is at immediate risk
- photos or videos, if it is safe to take them
This information can help us identify which organisation may be responsible.