The UK is once again experiencing massive flooding due to heavy rains, and this has water companies working 24/7 alongside local authorities, the Environment Agency, and other emergency services in an attempt to minimise the impact of the flooding on the local communities, including the impact on the drinking water and the sewerage services.
Thanks to the dedication of these entities, there is currently no large scale or widespread interruptions to drinking water supplies.
Water companies learned from past floods and have therefore set emergency plans in place to deal with problems, including supporting each other by sharing equipment like portable treatment facilities and water pumps from areas that have not been affected until the emergency has been dealt with.
Building on the lessons learned in previous major floods such as those experienced in 2007, water companies have everything in place to protect drinking water treatment works from rising flood waters. Contingency plans are being constantly reviewed in case flood waters ever reach unprecedented levels.
The water companies are helping to prevent pipes from being overloaded by flood water as well as keeping sewers flowing in an attempt to prevent home from being flooded by overflowing sewers which take sewerage away from homes, and sometimes surface water that runs off roads and other paved surfaces too.
Water companies are also hard at work protecting various vital assets such as treatment works and water pumping stations from being flooded, which could otherwise result in sewerage flooding people’s homes or could mean that sewage is not treated properly and this could affect the quality of the drinking water.
Daily checks on groundwater supplies are also undertaken regularly in order to ensure that they are not contaminated with storm water or floodwater.
If your property has been affected by sewer flooding, you should contact your sewerage company, and if a road or open space has been flooded, contact your local council.
