Who to contact in the event of a flood

A number of different agencies have responsibility for responding to flooding depending on the location.

Council homes

For flooding in and around Council homes:

report to your housing office

Or if the flood is caused by a repair such as a burst pipe:

report to housing repairs

Gullies and drains

For blocked gullies or drains, which are not the main sewer and are not on private property: report the problem online

Public sewers and burst water mains

Public sewers in Camden are maintained by Thames Water.

If you suspect a blockage, of if your property has been flooded by the public sewer, contact Thames Water

Private sewers

Sewers on private property are the responsibility of the property owner if they serve only that property. Beyond the property boundary, the pipes are the responsibility of Thames Water following the 2011 private sewer transfer.

If the pipes are shared with another property or were installed before 1937 visit thameswater.co.uk

Water service pipe or internal pipe work

The property owner is responsible for all water pipe work and should keep it maintained using a suitably qualified plumber.

Flood risk

Camden is not at risk of flooding from the Thames or any other open rivers.

The main risk of flooding within the borough is from surface water after significant rainfall events, and incapacity in the combined sewer to remove rain water. Groundwater flooding is also a growing issue in Camden.

There have been two significant surface area flooding events in Camden in the past 40 years. The first occurred on 14th August 1975 and the second on 7th August 2002. Both events were caused by sudden extreme downpours.

What are we doing?

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 makes all unitary authorities, including the London Borough of Camden, lead Local Flood Authorities. This means we have overall responsibility for managing flood risk from surface water and ground water in the borough. However we will not be able to stop flooding on our own so we need to work with other organisations as well as residents and businesses to help us manage flood risk. Two of the most important local stakeholders are Thames Water and the City of London Corporation. for more information on how the council is managing flood risk please download our strategy document below.

Managing flood risk in Camden: The London Borough of Camden flood risk management strategy (PDF 1.57MB)

Flood Risk Maps

In accordance with the Flood Risk Regulations, maps showing the flood risk from rivers, reservoirs and surface water runoff have been published on the Environment Agency website. The maps for river and reservoir flooding (including that from the Hampstead Heath ponds) have been published before but this is the first time surface water risk has been included.

If you have any concerns about anything to do with the maps, please contact Green Camden at: greencamden@camden.gov.uk

What we are doing to manage the risk of flooding in the borough

We will:

• Deliver on the actions identified in the London Borough of Camden flood risk management strategy
• Record flood incidents to improve our understanding of flood risk
• Investigate flooding incidents to determine the causes. If you have been flooded internally please email greencamden@camden.gov.uk and we will get in contact with you
• Maintain a public register of structures and features that are likely to have a significant effect on flood risk in Camden
• We are a statutory consultee for all major planning applications with reference to Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) proposals and flood risk
• Other organisations also have roles to play in managing flood risk, as do residents themselves. More information about this can be found on our flood risk page

Camden Council is obliged to produce a register of all assets it believes pose a significant risk to flooding.

The register focuses on the drainage assets in, or impacting on, the areas of greatest flood risk (see map below) as well as any major features. An asset being on this register does necessarily not mean that its failure by itself will cause problems but that it could add cumulatively to the risk and hence we are monitoring its condition.

Flood Risk Map 

This register will continue to grow as more information comes in. If you have any questions about it, or wish to see a copy of the register, please contact the Lead Local Flood Authority: greencamden@camden.gov.uk

Flood Risk Management Plan

The public consultation for Cycle Two of England’s Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMP) is currently  live. Camden sits in the Greater London Flood Risk Area in relation to surface water flooding. We have worked with the Environment Agency to propose local measures for the Thames Basin FRMP. To view the draft Plan and respond to the document, visit the Environment Agency’s consultation page.

(Open 22 October 2021 - 21 January 2022)

Flood Risk Management Strategy

Upcoming consultation (open to be confirmed).

Camden's Flood Investigation Report into the July 2021 Floods

In July 2021, Camden experienced surface water and sewer surcharge flooding affecting streets and properties. The extent of the flooding triggered a requirement for the Council to complete statutory Flood Investigation Report, which will be completed by April 2022. Further detail about the Flood Investigation Report is provided below. 

The Flood Investigation Report will be produced by Aecom on behalf of the Council.  The report will investigate the causes of the flooding and make recommendations to improve flood risk management. Aecom have begun to review the information held by the Council about the event and are working with other Risk Management Authorities, including Thames Water to further develop our understanding of the causes of the flooding.  

In order to improve our understanding of flooding impacts and responses in July 2021, the Council has developed a Flood Investigation Survey.

Camden residents and businesses whose properties were affected are invited to report experiences via the link below. This confidential survey is open throughout February and March 2022.

Fill in the survey here

• Managing flood risk in Camden: The London Borough of Camden’s risk management strategy. Our overall approach to managing flood risk, approved by the Council in 2013. It is due to be renewed in 2021.
• Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA): A PFRA is a high level assessment of flood risk involving the collection of information on past (historic) and future (potential) floods. This is a statutory document under the Flood Risk Regulations which all councils had to produce
• Surface Water Management Plan (SWMP): a non-statutory document produced to outline our approach to management of surface water flood risk
• Camden SFRA 2014 (PDF): Camden’s Strategic Flood Risk Assessment, produced to support the Local Plan policies. It collates and presents the most up to date information on Flood Risk in the borough
• Camden SFRA 2014: updated figure 6 ‘Local Flood Risk Zones’