We know how hard the winter floods were for many of you, and we want to assure you that we investigate each flooding event to understand what happened and why. As part of this investigation we also check that each authority did what they were supposed to do. You can find the Section 19 reports on our website if you want to learn more.  

As always, we are committed to helping you and your community stay safe from flooding in the future. Here are some of the ways we’re doing this:

• We are commissioning further investigations into specific areas or issues that need extra attention.
• We are expanding the Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Programme, helping homeowners and businesses at risk of flooding to apply for a grant to buy things like flood doors and air brick covers.
• We are exploring more ways to use nature to slow down the water and reduce the flood risk. This can include planting trees, creating wetlands, or restoring rivers.
• We are working with local landowners to help them understand their responsibilities for maintaining watercourses and ditches on their land.
• We are continuing to deliver community feedback workshops, where you can meet us and our partners, ask questions, and get advice.
• We are training more Community Flood Signage Wardens to help during a flood – see article below.

We’re here to help you and we appreciate your feedback. If you would like to discuss any flooding concerns, please email flood.team@nottscc.gov.uk

Over 60 people from across the county recently attended a workshop at County Hall to take part in flood signage training provided by the county council, Via East Midlands and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.  This included hands on experience setting up flood signage and road closures, guidance on water safety and communicating with residents, training on minimising damage to property, and advice on supporting the most vulnerable members of the community.

There are currently over 350 volunteer Flood Signage Wardens in Nottinghamshire, 24 active schemes and a further 16 schemes in progress, providing an important link between the county council, as Lead Local Flood Authority, and the local community.

The scheme has been so successful that it has been shortlisted for a Local Government Chronicle (LGC) award in the Community Involvement category.

If you’re interested in volunteering or finding out more about the scheme email: flood.team@nottscc.gov.uk

Your drainage system is easy to ignore when it works well, but hard to miss when it doesn't.

It’s important that rainwater can drain away from your property during heavy rainfall, so it’s important to keep drains and watercourses, such as ditches and dykes, clear and well maintained.

If you have watercourses running through, underneath or next to your property, you’ll have legal responsibilities as a riparian owner. This means that you’ll need to:

• maintain the bed and banks of the watercourse, including shrubs and trees;
• clear away debris, even if it did not originate from your land;
• allow water to run through your section of the watercourse without any obstruction, pollution or diversion.

If you need advice on how to keep your watercourse clear, contact us for more information. We also have a useful leaflet explaining riparian responsibilities that can be downloaded below.

The National Flood Forum is a charity that helps to support and represent people who are at risk of flooding. Their website has a whole host of information regarding flooding, please see some links below that you may find useful:

• Preparing for flooding
• Protecting your property
• Household Insurance
• Recovering from a flood
• What is a Flood Action Group? 

There is also lots of valuable information on the county council's website:

• Flooding help and advice

Visitors to the Newark County show in May had a chance to play in the sand and learn about flood risk at the same time!

We took along our amazing interactive augmented reality sandbox and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) model, which shows people how flooding happens and how to prevent it.

Children and adults alike had a blast with the interactive equipment and it was great to chat with residents about flood risk management. If you run a community group or event and would be interested in one of the team bringing along the augmented reality sandbox, please get in touch.