Responsibilities for flooding

 Issue

 Contact

Flooding from public sewers
Yorkshire Water is responsible for all public sewers.

Yorkshire Water tel: 0845 124 2429 or use the website link on this page

Flooding from water supply mains
Yorkshire Water is responsible for water leaking from water mains

Yorkshire Water tel: 0845 124 2424 or use the website link on this page

Flooding from 'main rivers'
Individual landowners are responsible for making sure rivers are not obstructed on their land.

The Environment Agency has legal powers to make landowners remove watercourse obstructions.

Owners must not carry out works affecting a river without the consent of the Environment Agency. 

Environment Agency
tel: 0845 9333111
or use the website link on this page

Flooding from ‘ordinary watercourses’ - including becks, ditches
Individual landowners are responsible for making sure rivers are not obstructed on their land (land ownership boundaries usually extend to the centre line of an adjacent watercourse).

We have legal powers to make landowners remove watercourse obstructions. We can also investigate flooding.

Owners must not divert, block, fill in or culvert a watercourse without written approval from us.

Leeds City Council
Land Drainage Section
Tel: 0113 247 8790
email: highways@leeds.gov.uk

Flooding of the highway
The Highway Authority has a statutory duty to maintain the highway. This includes taking reasonable care to make sure that it is properly drained.

Leeds City Council
Highways Services
tel: 0845 124 0113
email: highways@leeds.gov.uk

Flooding from culverted (i.e. piped) watercourses
Individual landowners are responsible for keeping culverted watercourses and grids at culvert entrances running freely.

We can investigate this type of flooding.

Leeds City Council
Land Drainage Section
tel: 0113 247 8790
email: highways@leeds.gov.uk

Flooding from private sewers and drains
Private sewers and drains are the responsibility of the property owner. If there were a blockage or defect on such a sewer or drain, all property owners upstream of the blockage would be expected to share in the cost of its removal.

We can give advice in the case of disputes. In the case of council houses, we are the relevant property owner and the Neighbourhood Housing Manager would usually become involved.

Leeds City Council
Environmental Health Services
0845 124 0113

email: use the link on the right hand side of the page

Run-off from higher land
Individual landowners are responsible for the drainage of their own land.

This means accepting and dealing with natural flows from adjacent higher land. It is not an offence to let water run off onto nearby land unless the flow has been artificially concentrated in a particular place.

We do not become involved in private disputes of this nature. If you have problems you may need private legal advice.

Water in cellars (where not from sewers, drains, water mains or blocked watercourses)
Property owners are responsible for dealing with groundwater water ingress into cellars. Note that specialist advice should be sought before preventing water ingress by sealing walls externally or internally. A resulting external pressure build-up could cause structural damage.

Our environmental health officers may be able to help investigate the source of the water, provided that Yorkshire Water has already investigated and ruled out the possibility of leakage from sewers and water mains (see above).

Leeds City Council
Environmental Health Services
0845 124 0113

email: use the link on the right hand side of the page

Waterlogged gardens (not due to the above sources)
Property owners are responsible for dealing waterlogging problems.