We need to know where areas of highest flood risk are so we can manage them effectively and members of the public who may live or work in these areas can be prepared.
Details on areas at risk from different sources of flooding and the studies we are undertaking to investigate surface water flood risk areas are below.
Flooding from large brooks and rivers
The Environment Agency are responsible for predicting areas at risk of flooding from large brooks, rivers and the sea. In Leicester they are responsible for flood risk from the River Soar and the large brooks running through the City. See a map of these watercourses at the bottom of the page.
The Environment Agency produce a Flood Map showing risk from a flooding event and an extreme flooding event. The risk to areas is taken from the National Flood Risk Assessment and is shown as low, moderate or significant.
Launch the Environment Agency's Flood Map here, or read their explanation of what the map shows here.
The Flood Zones marked on the Environment Agency's Flood Map are used for development planning purposes. See more information about flood risk as a planning constraint here.
Surface water flooding
Surface water flooding is flooding resulting from heavy rainfall, small watercourses overflowing their banks or groundwater flooding, which is where water rises back to the surface from underground.
The responsibility for the City Council to manage surface water flooding is new - no single organisation has been responsible for it in the past, so we don't know which areas of the City are most at risk. We are therefore working on a number of projects to provide new information on the most at risk areas, so we can form a detailed Local Flood Risk Management Strategy to set out how we will tackle these risks.
Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment
This report is a high level overview of the risk to the City from surface water flooding. Each local authority has prepared a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA) for central government to provide an overview of the areas of the country most at risk from surface water flooding. Leicester has been designated a "nationally significant flood risk area" due to the number of people at risk.
Read more about the PFRA here.
Surface Water Management Plan
The Surface Water Management Plan (SWMP) will provide us with detailed information about the risk of surface water flooding - roughly equivalent to the level of information in the Environment Agency's Flood Map - but for surface water.
The SWMP includes:
- Computer modelling of the City as a whole to work out the areas most likely to flood from surface water;
- Modelling of flooding from some of the smaller watercourses around the City which are known to lead to flooding;
- Detailed modelling of some of the areas found to be at risk from surface water to investigate possible solutions; and
- A new Strategic Flood Risk Assessment to update the current one carried out in 2004.
Read more about the SWMP here.
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Flooding from sewers
Severn Trent Water Ltd. are generally responsible for flooding from sewers. Report internal or external flooding to them, but also please try and notify the City Council.
Information for people at risk of flooding
There is a lot of information available to people who are at risk of flooding. The key message though is always be prepared. If you think you are at risk of flooding take action now to protect your property and plan for a flood.
We have prepared information for people who may be affected by the information in the Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment, which is available here.
The Environment Agency and Local Resilience Forum provide information on how to prepare for a flood. See the following information on their websites.
Local Resilience Forum:
- LRF information on flooding
- Leicester City Council Emergency Planning
- Preparing for emergencies
- Subsidised FloodSax (R) for Leicester & Leicestershire residents
Environment Agency:
- Preparing for a flood
- Reducing the risk to your property
- Flood Warning Line - automated warnings if in a risk area
The National Flood Forum provide advice for people who have been or may be affected by floods. They provide a list of kite marked products to defend your home or business and advice on how to manage insurance claims: http://www.floodforum.org.uk/
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