20/06/16 Flooding in Molesey. Links and phone numbers of the organisations you need to know

Environment Agency and Flooding.              

Flood line number   0845  9881188 Environment Agency

• Flood warnings and to see if your property is at risk. Click on the link: Flood Risk

• Flood map of our area. Click on the link: Flood Map
• Obtaining Flood risk Insurance. Click on the link: Insurance    
• Preparing for a flood. Click on the link: Preparation

Understanding different sources of flooding

Floods can happen anywhere at any time, caused by rising ground water levels burst water drains, rainwater running off hillsides as well as flooding from rivers and the sea. Even if you live miles away from the coast or a river, there’s still a chance flooding could affect you.

The most common sources of flooding are:

• River flooding happens when a watercourse cannot cope with the water draining

into it from the surrounding land. This can happen, for example, when heavy rain

falls on an already waterlogged catchment. Environment agency 0845 9881188.

• Surface water flooding happens when heavy rainfall overwhelms the drainage

capacity of the local area. It is difficult to predict and pinpoint, much more so

than river or coastal flooding. Surrey County council 03456 009009. Elmbridge council 01372 474474.

• Sewer flooding happens when sewers are overwhelmed by heavy rainfall or

when they become blocked. The likelihood of flooding depends on the capacity

of the local sewerage system. Land and property can be flooded with water

contaminated with raw sewage as a result. Rivers can also become polluted by

sewer overflows. Thames water 0800 3169800

• Groundwater flooding results from water levels in the ground rising above

surface levels. It is most likely to occur in areas situated over permeable rocks,

called aquifers. These can be extensive, regional aquifers, such as chalk

or sandstone, or may be more local sand or river gravels in valley bottoms

underlain by less permeable rocks. This is not a significant source of flooding in

Wales. Surrey County council 03456 009009. Elmbridge council 01372 474474.

• Reservoir flooding. Some reservoirs hold large volumes of water above ground

level, contained by walls, or ‘dams’. Although the safety record for reservoirs

is excellent, it is still possible that a dam could fail. This would result in a large

volume of water being released very quickly. Thames water 0800 3169800

Published on Wednesday, June 15th, 2016
in General Interest