We keep road drains and gullies clean and maintained to prevent flooding. Find out here how to report different types of road flooding.
Reporting a flood - who is responsible?
| Road flooding issue | Who is responsible |
|---|---|
| Blocked gullies (roadside drainage gratings); overflowing manholes (sumps) | North Yorkshire County Council - report blocked gullies here |
| Channels ('grips') in rural verges to allow water to run off the road; pipes and stone culverts; general road flooding | North Yorkshire County Council - report blocked channels here |
| Rivers | The Environment Agency - a 24-hour Floodline advice and information service is provided |
| Roadside ditches and private sewers or drains | The private landowners on each side of the ditch |
| Public sewers (including drains leading to public sewers in urban areas), burst water mains | The local water authority - but in winter, please also report public sewers here |
| Car parks, amenity areas | Town and district councils |
Do it online
Log in and report a flooding issue
If you prefer, you can tell us about a flooding issue or blocked gully anonymously, but you will miss out on the benefits of having an account such as getting progress updates.
Not all roads are our responsibility
Motorways and trunk roads such as the A1, A1(M), M62, A66, A66(M), A64, A168 (Dishforth to Thirsk) and A19 (north of Thirsk) must be reported to Highways England.
In an emergency
If it's an emergency and poses a safety risk, telephone us. Out of office hours, call North Yorkshire Police on 101. If there is danger to life, call 999.
Road drainage systems or gullies are intended to remove water efficiently from the surface of the highway to provide a safe passage for all vehicles and pedestrians and to prevent structural damage to the road.
We regularly inspect and maintain road gullies we are responsible for every year. They are cleared or repaired in order of priority, depending on:
- the type of road (classified or unclassified);
- the importance of the drain to preventing the road or properties from being flooded or ice forming on the road in winter; and
- available funding.
More information
It is illegal to discharge drainage directly on to the highway or to connect private drainage into any highway drainage system.
If you intend to carry out any alterations to drainage, or make changes in land use which might result in surface water discharging on to the highway, or increased flows in highway drainage, you must consult us.
Keeping gullies clean and fully operational is our responsibility. Blocked and damaged roadside drains can cause a hazard to highway users, particularly during periods of heavy rain.
Our approach to highway flooding is one of both proactive and reactive maintenance.
- Highway gullies are programmed for regular cleaning, which checks that they are fully functioning. This cleaning can also involve water pressure jetting to clear associated pipework.
- Gullies reported as blocked will be logged and left until the planned visit unless they are causing a health and safety issue.
- Gullies reported with missing/broken grates will be added to our programme for maintenance of non-urgent works unless they are causing a danger to the public, in such cases they will be dealt with as soon as practicable.
- We maintain a database of reported trouble spots where problems reported either by members of the public or by council operatives are kept. These problems are prioritised in accordance with a standard procedure until investigative and remedial works are able to be carried out when maintenance budgets permit.
It must be remembered that problems can occur even when drainage provisions are clean and well maintained, for example as a result of:
- exceptional rainfall;
- a road being in a low lying area;
- changes in 'run off' from adjoining land;
- rivers overflowing; and
- material carried into drains by floods.