What to do during a flood

During a flooding incident there are a number of things you can do as a homeowner and support you can ask for from certain organisations.

Who can help you

Different organisations have different responsibilities for helping people affected during flooding. Firstly you should always report a flood via the information on this page but you may also need to contact another service for support. Below is a list of which agency you should contact for different types of assistance.

Organisation	What they are responsible for and support provided	Contact details
Gloucestershire County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority	The county council are the Lead Flood authority for our area. They are responsible for: investigating and reporting flooding incidents managing flood risk from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses (i.e. non main rivers) producing a local flood risk management strategy consenting works on ordinary water courses.The County council are legally responsible but the authority for consenting and enforcement of the Land Drainage Act has been delegated to the district councils flood risk management teams enforcing works to maintain the flow on ordinary water courses See more information on the County Council’s role.	08000 514 514 This is the highways number and not the LLFA number.
Your local water provider (either Thames Water, Severn Trent Water or Bristol Water)	The local sewer system and any flooding that may affect them. Let them know if you have any issues with sewer water	Severn Trent - 0800 783 4444 Thames Water - Call 0800 316 9800 or text phone 0800 316 9898 Bristol Water - 0845 702 3797
Environment Agency	Any flooding issues affecting main rivers. They are responsible for managing the flooding and flood prevention in those water courses	0345 988 1188
Gloucestershire Police and Gloucestershire Fire Service	Supporting with closing roads and helping in the immediate response to a flood but have no statutory responsibilities for flooding	999 in an emergency or 101 in a non-emergency situation
Local parish council	Your local parish council may provide flood support. Check with them for more information.
Cotswold District Council	If you need rehoming, contact friends and family, or your insurance company or landlord. If this isn’t possible we may be able help to rehome anyone who has to leave their home due to flooding.	01285 623000
Local landowners	It is the responsibility of land owners to maintain water courses on private land

Putting out sandbags or other flood protection products

There are many different types of equipment you can purchase which will offer different levels of protection to your home in the event of a flood.The National Flood Forum has produced an independent directory of flood protection products and services called the Blue Pages.

We advise residents to purchase equipment or sandbags ahead of a flooding event if your property is at risk of flooding so that you can put them out if necessary. You can buy sandbags from most local builders merchants.

The Environment Agency has published a guide on how best to use them
The Gloucestershire Local Resilience Forum have produced a video guide on how to effectively protect your property against flood water using sandbags

The District Council does not provide sandbags for residential or commercial properties and owners/ occupiers are responsible for disposing of sandbags once the risk of flooding has subsided.

What to do during a flood