Flood and foul sewer advice

Surface water flooding

Oxfordshire County Council’s flood toolkit website gives advice to homeowners, businesses, landowners and the community on flood prevention and recovery, and what to do in an emergency. 

Flood alerts – you can sign up to the alerts in your area via the Environment Agency Website.

Report flooding – Environment Agency incident hotline 0800 80 70 60.

We do not have a statutory duty to provide sandbags and will only respond to requests for them in extreme emergencies in a specific location. 

Foul sewer or water main flooding

Sewer flooding may occur for a number of reasons, including a failure of the sewerage system; a blockage in the drainage pipes; or when the sewerage system is not designed to deal with the amount of sewage and/or water entering the system. This can mean that sewer flooding can be a more frequent event during periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall.

This Thames Water advice on sewer flooding should help you identify who is responsible.

Report sewer flooding or burst water main or contact Thames Water on 0800 316 9800.

Foul sewer drainage

Blockages or defects to sewers are either the responsibility of the local sewerage undertaker (Thames Water) or the owner of the property that the drainage serves.

Generally speaking, you’re usually responsible for drains inside the boundaries of your property, while the sewerage company is responsible for lateral drains, which are usually outside of property boundaries, and sewers. If you suspect a blockage speak to your neighbours and try to find out who is affected. If you suspect it is only you, (i.e. the blockage is in your drain), it is the responsibility of the house owner to clear the blockage. If more than one property is affected, contact the statutory undertaker Thames Water who is responsible.

This Thames Water advice on blockages should help you identify the cause of the problem and who is responsible.