Londoners should flood-proof homes as sewers are not fit to deal with amount of rainfall expected, report warns

By Jacob Phillips, Local Democracy Reporter

Londoners will have to flood-proof their homes to stop sewage flooding in, a report has warned.

Extreme rainfall is likely to make sewage flooding more common in the capital and, if nothing is done, families may once again have their homes coated in excrement and dirty water.

Two months’ worth of rain hit some areas of London within hours last summer, overflowing London’s sewers and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to homes.

Rainfall flooded parts of west London in the space of just two hours on July 12. Four hours of heavy rainfall on July 25 then caused even more flooding across London.

In total 1,500 homes were flooded in the two days of rainfall across the capital. The flash flooding caused water to lift up manholes and rise through people’s toilets in 13 London boroughs.

Now, a review of what happened has found that parts of London’s sewers are not fit to deal with extreme rainfall, and the city will have to find ways to better deal with sewage spills.

The London Flood Review, led by the Independent Expert Group, has warned similar events may happen more often in the future.

A report said: “Such events are likely to occur more frequently in the future, and the various organisations which manage flood risk will need to work collaboratively to ensure that the impacts of flooding are managed appropriately.

It added: “Even if all the recommendations in this report are taken forward by the risk management authorities, there is still potential for large-scale flooding to occur. It will be how we manage the impact in future that will make the most difference.’

The report also warned London’s sewers are not fit to deal with extreme rainfall and that no matter what measures are taken there is still potential for large-scale flooding.

Pictured top: Flooding outside Southwark Tube station in 2020 (Picture: LFB)