Flooding - who is responsible for what

Environment Agency

The Environment Agency has a strategic overview role for all sources of flooding. They are responsible for flood management activities on main rivers (for example the River Nene, River Great Ouse, and River Cam) and they provide flood forecasts and warnings.

Lead Local Flood Authorities

Cambridgeshire County Council is a Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA). We have responsibility to manage the risk of surface water flooding, ordinary watercourses (these are the smaller ditches and streams) and groundwater flooding. We are also required to:

• Investigate and report on significant flood events in our area. If internal flooding of properties occurs, we may need to undertake a formal investigation and the results of this will be published on our website. The results of these investigations may be used to inform future flood alleviation projects or allocate maintenance activities. This means it is extremely important to report flooding as soon as you can after the event.
• Produce a strategy that shows how we will work with other organisations and the community to manage flood risk into the future.
• Respond to major planning applications (10 houses or more) to ensure they are designed appropriately to manage their surface water drainage.
• Establish and maintain a register for key structures or features across Cambridgeshire that protect against flooding.
• Assess any proposed works that will alter or obstruct an ordinary watercourse. Examples include piping (culverting) a watercourse to enable crossing or diverting a watercourse.

Unitary, District and City Councils

Unitary, District and City councils are all emergency responders in a flood event. They will inform residents about emergencies, cooperate with other emergency responders, provide rest centres if people need to leave their homes due to flooding, and help people to recover after a flood. Some city and district councils are also responsible for the maintenance of certain watercourses. You can find out which ones by using our watercourse mapping tool.

Responsibility for drainage of roads and footpaths

Cambridgeshire County Council is responsible for the management of roads and footpaths, including their drainage. This includes gullies, pipes and a small number of ditches created to drain the highway.

National Highways is responsible for managing motorways and trunk roads (the most significant ‘A’ roads). As part of this, they are responsible for the drainage network that collects and manages rainfall.

Internal Drainage Boards

Internal Drainage Boards (often known as IDBs) are responsible for managing water levels within their districts. Much of their work involves maintenance of drainage channels, rivers, ditches, and pumping stations. You can find out which IDB catchment you lie in by viewing the Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) Internal Drainage Boards Map.

If you own or rent land either with, or nearby a watercourse (riparian owners)

A riparian owner is someone who owns or rents land with a watercourse flowing through, or alongside it. Riparian owners are required to maintain the free flow of water through their section of the watercourse by keeping the channel clear, for example, mowing or trimming banks, removing vegetation such as trees and shrubs, and clearing any blockages.

What is my responsibility as a homeowner?

Homeowners are responsible for looking after their own property, including the risks of water entering it and causing damage.

What is the responsibility of the water companies?

Water companies such as Anglian Water are responsible for managing the risk of flooding from their network of pipes including surface water and sewage.

Cambridgeshire Flood and Water Partnership (CPFloW)

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Flood and Water Partnership, also called CPFloW, is a group of organisations that work together to manage flood risk across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The group helps make sure flooding is planned for properly and that organisations work together in a clear and joined‑up way

Which organisations belong to CPFloW?

Each group has a different role to play in helping reduce flood risk. Organisations involved include:

• Cambridgeshire County Council
• Peterborough City Council
• District and city councils across Cambridgeshire
• The Environment Agency
• Anglian Water
• Internal Drainage Boards
• Emergency services such as Police and Fire & Rescue
• National organisations like National Highways and the National Farmers Union

How often does CPFloW meet?

The partnership usually meets four times a year. Extra meetings can be held if there is serious flooding or an urgent issue. Meetings are currently held online.

CPFloW meeting summaries

You can read summaries from the past meetings below: