Surface water flooding

Surface water flooding happens when rainfall cannot soak into the ground or drain into urban drainage systems. This can occur on natural surfaces such as fields and gardens during very heavy rain. More often however, surface water flooding occurs when rainfall falls on urban paved surfaces for example, roads, driveways and car parks which allow little or no infiltration.

Therefore paved areas are usually more susceptible surface water flooding. As such it is important to take a cautious approach to surface water flooding when new development is built on undeveloped land. As the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) and the Local Planning Authority, we take a very proactive role in ensuring new development does not increase overall surface water flood risk. More information about sustainable drainage for new developments can be found on the Achieving sustainable development page.

The responsibility of managing the risk of surface water flooding in Derby rests with us as the LLFA. As the highways authority we are also responsible for maintaining the highway drainage network to help reduce the risk of surface water flooding on our roads.

In general, highway gullies and pipes should work without routine maintenance. However we do periodically empty and cleanse gullies, removing any silt and other debris which may have built up.

The Environment Agency (EA) now publishes a national dataset which can help to illustrate the risk of surface water flooding in your area. To view this dataset, residents are advised to visit the Environment Agency website using this link and enter your location into the search.

If you have any concerns about flooding from surface water, or wish to report flooding from surface water, please visit the Report Flooding or Request Advice section.

For more information on surface water flooding to the highway, please visit the Highway flooding page.