Report a blocked rain gully or drain
Tell us if you find a blocked rain gully or drain and we'll let our highways team know.
How we look after the city's gullies and drains
Rainwater gullies are drains in our streets that most often run at the edge of the road, covered by grills. Sometimes, they get blocked with leaves or litter, which can cause surface flooding.
In Brighton & Hove our contractors clean them every 12 or 18 months. Once cleaned, a coloured spot is spray-painted on the grating.
Our contractor recycles up to 95% of what's collected from the bottom of these gullies and it's made into materials for road surfacing.
You can report a problem with a gully or drain on a public road online.
Why flooding happens
Surface water flooding is very complex and there are usually several reasons for any increase in “mini floods.”
This is not always due to gullies being blocked.
Very heavy rain falling in a short time is an increasing problem. The drainage system can't always absorb a large quantity of water in one go although it will gradually run into the system. If the rain is very heavy, the water flows over the tops of the drains for a while, but this will eventually be absorbed into the system.
Other issues causing surface water flooding:
- more hard landscaping e.g. driveways, tarmac over grass verges
- cars parked over gullies (drains)
- a long dry period before the rainfall which means the ground is hard and less able to absorb water quickly
- a prolonged wet period, where the ground may be saturated and therefore unable to absorb additional large quantities of water quickly
- more infrastructure in the city, using the sewage/drainage network
In these cases, the gullies and soakaways may be working but just need time to be able to cope with the levels of water runoff.
Get more information about street cleaning.
Cleaning schedules
Gullies and drains are cleaned on a regular schedule.
If the contractor is pulled away from this schedule to deal with individual gullies all over the city, the schedule falls behind and more gullies don’t get cleaned on time.
To stop delays to important work, we'll stick to the schedule unless there's an emergency.
An emergency means either:
- flooding of homes or businesses
- a frequent and lasting safety hazard to people on the road and pavement (particularly one that does not disappear soon after heavy rain has stopped).
Drains on private land and sewers
Southern Water manages sewers. If you're experiencing a sewer problem phone them on 0330 303 0368.
Drains on private property are the responsibility of the property owner.
Reporting surface water floods
Before you report a blocked drain, check that other actions can't help with the problem.
Are there leaves or other detritus blocking the top of the gully? If so, can you remove these?
Does the flood subside reasonably soon after the rain has stopped? If so, the system is working but needs time to cope.
Reporting a blocked gully or drain
Report a blocked drain or gully.
We're working towards making our schedule as efficient as possible. All information will be used for a more risk-based approach to cleaning gullies.
We cannot contact everyone directly in response to all reports of flooding or blocked gullies but we'll look at the information provided, including visiting the site as necessary.
Our priorities will be flooded homes or genuine safety issues, not garages or gardens.