💪 How to Get the Council and the Environment Agency to Take Action on Flooding
A practical guide for residents who want real change
Flooding can leave you feeling powerless — but you’re not.
When local authorities and agencies fail to act, residents have the right (and responsibility) to push for answers and accountability. This guide shows you how to turn frustration into action and make your voice impossible to ignore.
⚡ Step 1. Understand who does what
Before you start writing emails or petitions, know where responsibilities lie — it’ll make your efforts sharper and harder to dismiss.
| Task | Who’s Responsible | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Maintaining drains, gullies & roads | Local Council (Highways Department) | Stockport Council’s Highways & Infrastructure team |
| Managing main rivers & issuing flood alerts | Environment Agency (EA) | River Mersey, Micker Brook |
| Managing smaller watercourses (brooks, culverts) | Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) – usually your council | Stockport Council Flood Risk Team |
| Sewer network & surface-water drainage | United Utilities | Blocked or overwhelmed sewers |
| Emergency response / sandbags / evacuations | Local Council Civil Contingencies | Flood response planning |
💡 Tip: When you contact officials, copy in all relevant bodies — it stops them from blaming each other and ensures the issue can’t be quietly passed along.
🧭 Step 2. Gather evidence
Evidence makes your case unarguable. The more precise and documented you are, the faster things move.
- Take dated photos and videos of flooding, blocked drains, and overflowing brooks.
- Keep a rainfall diary — note time, duration, and impact.
- Record damage patterns (which houses, which side of the street, etc.).
- Map flood routes using Google Maps or a screenshot annotated with arrows.
- Note council report numbers (e.g., “Reported blocked drain 101007881981”).
Bundle these together — it’s gold dust when you talk to councillors or the EA.
🗣️ Step 3. Contact your local councillors
Councillors are elected to represent you — they’re your direct line into the council’s system.
- Find them: search for your local councils – councillor directory.
- Email them all: Don’t just pick one. Copy all councillors for your ward and relevant cabinet members (e.g. Highways, Climate, Environment).
- Keep it factual, not emotional: Include dates, images, and clear requests — “Please can you confirm when this drain was last cleaned?” works better than “This is outrageous.”
- Follow up: If no response within a week, politely chase. Councillors are busy, but persistence gets results.
- Ask them to escalate: Councillors can raise written questions, motions, or site visits. Ask specifically:
- “Will you raise this at the next Area Committee?”
- “Can you request a Section 19 review update?”
💬 Pro Tip: Be polite but firm — never aggressive. You want them on your side, not avoiding your emails.
🏛️ Step 4. Contact key officers and departments
Alongside councillors, you can go straight to officers responsible for flood risk and infrastructure.
- Flood Risk Management Team: Ask for drainage maintenance schedules, Section 19 report updates, or mapping data.
- Highways Department: Request confirmation of when gullies were last cleaned.
- Environmental Health: Report contamination or sewage overflow.
- Emergency Planning: Ask what support plans exist for residents post-flood.
Always include your photos, dates, and any previous report numbers — and CC councillors.
🧾 Step 5. Use Freedom of Information (FOI) requests
If you’re not getting answers, use your legal right to information.
You can ask for:
- Dates of last gully cleans on specific roads
- Maintenance schedules or budgets
- Copies of Section 19 flood investigation reports
- Records of complaints or drainage issues in your area
🖋️ Send requests via WhatDoTheyKnow.com — it’s free and public, which adds pressure for a response.
📅 Step 6. Attend council meetings
Show up. Be seen.
- Find your local Area Committee meeting (Cheadle Area Committee, etc.).
- Submit questions in advance — most councils allow residents to ask one question per meeting.
- When it’s webcast, clip and share key moments online (Twitter/X, Facebook groups). Visibility multiplies pressure.
🌧️ Step 7. Engage with the Environment Agency
The EA can sometimes feel distant, but persistence pays.
- Email or call your local EA Partnerships and Strategic Overview team.
- Ask for details of flood defence schemes proposed for your area, funding stages, and telemetry points used for flood alerts.
- Request that you (and your local flood group) be consulted on future projects.
- If flood alerts failed, ask for a technical explanation and suggest improvements (e.g. subscription update emails).
💡 Tip: Keep records of all EA correspondence — it helps build a timeline of accountability.
🤝 Step 8. Join or start a flood-action group
There’s strength in numbers.
- Bring together neighbours under one name (e.g. Micker Brook Flood Action Group).
- Use Facebook or WhatsApp to coordinate.
- Elect one or two spokespeople to keep communication clear.
- Groups get taken more seriously by councils, MPs, and the EA.
Add your group to The Flood Hub or National Flood Forum directory so agencies know you exist.
🧠 Step 9. Work with your MP and media
Flood risk is political — use that to your advantage.
- Write to your MP explaining the impact, attaching evidence and costs.
- Ask them to:
- Raise your case with DEFRA or the EA regional office.
- Support funding bids for new defences.
- Involve local media: Granada Reports, Manchester Evening News, BBC Radio Manchester all cover flood resilience stories.
- Keep your messaging calm and factual — you’ll be seen as credible, not “complaining”.
💷 Step 10. Push for funding & accountability
When budgets are discussed, insist that flood prevention is prioritised.
Ask your councillors:
- How much the council spends annually on flood prevention and drainage.
- How much central government funding has been bid for — and when.
- Whether Stockport is applying for DEFRA Flood & Coastal Resilience Innovation funds.
- Whether they will lobby United Utilities for investment in stormwater capacity upgrades.
Make your asks specific and measurable.
🧩 Step 11. Collaborate, don’t clash (but hold firm)
The goal isn’t war — it’s progress.
Be assertive, not hostile.
When you find supportive officers or councillors, thank them publicly.
When you don’t, document it privately.
Both actions build credibility.
🗓️ Step 12. Keep the momentum
Flooding fades from headlines — until it happens again.
Don’t let the topic die.
- Send quarterly updates to councillors and MPs.
- Keep a mailing list of local residents.
- Share maintenance lapses on social media (with evidence, not anger).
- Celebrate wins — even small ones — to keep morale high.
📚 Useful contacts & resources
- Environment Agency – enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk or 03708 506 506
- United Utilities Flooding Reports – 0345 672 3723
- The Flood Hub – thefloodhub.co.uk
- National Flood Forum – nationalfloodforum.org.uk
🔚 Final thoughts
Real change happens when residents refuse to be ignored.
You don’t need to be an expert — you just need persistence, good evidence, and a willingness to hold people accountable.
Flooding isn’t just a weather problem — it’s a planning, funding, and leadership problem.
And the louder and more coordinated we are, the harder it becomes for anyone to pretend it’s not their responsibility.