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Contents

• Welcome to the third Flood and Water newsletter
• September flooding
• Upcoming events
• Reporting a flood
• Flood kits
  
• Using maps to understand flooding – by Charles Dalleywater, Chair of the Alconbury Brook Flood Group
• In the news: new early warning flood alert could add ‘valuable minutes’ to flood response
  
• Did you know?
  
• Keeping in touch
  

Welcome to the third Flood and Water newsletter

Managing flood risk and increasing community resilience in Cambridgeshire is our priority and we work closely with local residents to achieve this.

This seasonal newsletter will provide you with information, advice and guidance relating to flooding, and explore how to manage watercourses depending on time of the year. We will also promote upcoming events and provide information on local flood groups. Where relevant, we will share local case studies so that you can see some of our achievements.

September flooding

The county council as Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) received 57 reports of flooding including both internal flooding of properties and external flooding of roads and gardens. Thirty six of these reports related to flooding in Brampton alone.

We understand the significant impact that the recent flooding has had on the community, and we are working with all our local partners, including Huntingdonshire District Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, the Environment Agency, Anglian Water and Internal Drainage Board to support residents in the local communities. Investigations are being conducted in line with the thresholds set down in our adopted Flood Risk Management Strategy and the findings of these will be published on our website in due course.

Upcoming events

Reporting a flood

If you witness or experience flooding, it is important to report it to help the appropriate authorities respond effectively.

Different types of flooding are managed by different risk management authorities. If you are unsure who to report each type of flooding to, please refer to our webpage.

If in doubt, please report it to us using the link below and we can ensure it is shared with the relevant agency.

To report flooding problems on roads or pavements (e.g. overflowing drains and gullies) use the links below:

To report any flooding (either inside or outside your property) from groundwater or surface water caused by rain, you can use the flood reporting online form.

To report a flood from fresh water pipes or sewers:

Anglian Water Services covers most of the county for sewerage and water supply. Cambridge Water supplies only water to Cambridge and some of the surrounding areas.

Flood kits

Essential items

• Copy of important documents - passports, insurance documents, driving licence
• Emergency cash/credit cards
• Prescription medication
• Children’s essentials - nappies, sterilised bottles and spoons, milk and baby food, baby wipes etc.
• Contact details - emergency insurance, family and friends, utilities providers, financial providers, hospitals, council, emergency services
• First aid kit
• Bottled water
• Electricals - mobile phone and chargers

Useful items

• Torch with spare batteries
• Non-perishable food items
• Essential toiletries
• Blankets, duvets and warm clothes
• Waterproof clothing and shoes
• Pack of playing cards or family games

Using maps to understand flooding – by Charles Dalleywater, Chair of the Alconbury Brook Flood Group

Flood risk is based on probability of flooding in a given year. Flood Zones reflect these probabilities. You can find flood zone maps at:

The site is intended for planning, but you can easily move away from the postcode you have chosen to anywhere you’re interested in.

For a more detailed map of watercourses in your catchment the Cambridgeshire County Council Watercourse Mapping Tool is a great source. Find the map on the page and enter an address. Zoom in to get some extra details and switch between map views.

If you want clever mapping which will give you elevations for any location in your catchment, or even cross sections across parts of your catchment then try ArcGIS Desktop. It’s a bit fiddly to get used to but well worth it.

It may be worth looking at your watercourse a hundred years ago. The National Library of Scotland has a huge online collection which can be searched from. You may be able to find ponds and ditches which were important in flood mitigation, but no longer exist.

One of several sites which have data from watercourse measuring stations is FloodMapper UK. It also contains flood risk maps.

Finally, if you want to look at a map that shows a theoretical assessment of your catchments potential for various types of Natural Flood Management then look at:

In the news: new early warning flood alert could add ‘valuable minutes’ to flood response

The alerts could add valuable minutes during a flash flood event to allow flood guards and flood gates to be deployed. The early warning systems would also involve communication strategies to ensure that they are accessible and easily understood by all responders.

To find out more check out the articles below:

Did you know?

Keeping in touch

Visit our website: Cambridgeshire flood and water

Report a flood Using the form on our website

Email us:

• Planning, pre-application or development related enquiries
• Watercourse consenting, enforcement, and general enquiries
• Community Flood Action Plan

Write to us:

Flood and Water, New Shire Hall, Emery Crescent, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon, PE28 4YE

Phone us:

0345 045 5200 (General Enquiries)

Stay connected with Cambridgeshire County Council

 This email was sent to clerk@bramptonpc.co.uk using Microsoft Dynamics on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council

New Shire Hall, Alconbury, PE28 4YE