Land Drainage

Land drains or watercourses include all rivers, streams, ditches, cuts, culverts (piped sections), dykes, sluices and passages through which water flows.

Responsibility for watercourses rests with property and landowners with watercourses crossing or abutting their land. Where a watercourse is between property boundaries, each owner is jointly responsible.

The Council is able to offer advice about problems associated with land drainage, including ditches, streams, rivers and other watercourses. It is the land owners responsibility (upon whose land the watercourse is located) to carry out maintenance work. Works to watercourses will often require the consent of the Environment Agency.

Riparian Ownership

The rivers, streams and ditches are the responsibility of the 'riparian' landowners who own land on either bank. If your property is adjacent to a watercourse of any description you are a Riparian Owner and should be maintaining it regularly.

Land Drainage Responsibilities

Land Drainage Responsibilities is a complex area, but in short a landowner is responsible for the drainage of their land.

Flooding

River and Ditch Flooding

Flooding

Road Flooding

Flood incident record

Environment Agency Floods website

Legislation

Land drainage legislation can be found in the Land Drainage Act 1991 and in the local Land Drainage Byelaws. The council has no responsibilities for land drainage, except when it is the landowner. We only have powers to act in certain circumstances, to mitigate the effects of flooding.

If a landowner fails to carry out necessary maintenance on an ordinary watercourse then we can use powers under the Land Drainage Act to serve notice requiring them to undertake the necessary works. Failure to comply with such a notice may result in the council undertaking the work and recharging the owner the costs of doing so. We prefer not to take formal action and for landowners to maintain watercourses voluntarily.

The council's powers do not extend to main rivers and if similar problems occur on these then the Environment Agency would have to take any action deemed necessary.