Campaigners and local residents have expressed growing concern about the state of sewers and drains after flash flooding hit London on Monday, 15 July.

The torrential rain, which led to parts of the Piccadilly Line closing, overwhelmed sewers in Ealing and Hanwell.

Videos taken by residents showed traffic driving through deep floods on Greenford Avenue and firefighters clearing flood water from streets in Old Hanwell.

The sudden torrential downpour saw London Fire Brigade redirecting traffic whilst unblocking drains.

Residents attempted to sweep away polluted water that was pouring down roads and into gardens and homes.

Ben Morris, Trustee of the Brent River Park Charity (BRPC) and founder of the Clean Up the River Brent campaign (CURB), took photos and videos of sewer overflows on Uxbridge Road and Churchfield Road.

"This was shocking evidence of urban rainwater mismanagement. It is clear that our infrastructure can't cope with these heavy downpours.

"Climate change is making these severe flooding incidents ever more frequent. Dealing with this needs co-ordinated action from a number of agencies.

"We call on Ealing Council, Brent Council, the Environment Agency, Thames Water and the Greater London Authority to work together to sort this out before it's too late," he remarked.

The BRPC believe the lack of a joined up approach is causing 'frustration for residents who feel that the buck is being passed from one agency to another.'

Burst sewer in Uxbridge Road on 15 July (credit: BRCS).

Hanwell resident Robert Wendt said: "This is fifth time since I moved here in mid-October 2023 that the sewer has backed up into my drains, and the third time that it has overflowed the open drains outside my kitchen and bathroom and flooded my back garden.

"Attempts to get Thames Water and Ealing Council to deal with this issue have failed because each says the other is responsible.

"Thames Water say that the sewer works well in ''normal" conditions and that surface water drainage is the Council's responsibility. But five times in nine months isn't exceptional; it is now normal and it's only going to get worse."

The BRPC Trustee Steven Toft added: "This is happening more and more often. People are very concerned and are understandably becoming quite frustrated and angry about the lack of any co-ordinated response.

"It also shows the importance of the Brent River Park's floodplain. Without our park soaking up water, the flood risk would be so much worse.

"For this reason, we are opposed to the addition of any hard-standing in the Brent River Park and would like to see the council turn more of it back into green space.

"Climate change is negatively impacting how we live in London. We encourage Ealing and other London Boroughs to adopt the Sponge City principles that have proved so successful elsewhere.

"To echo Ben's comments, we are keen to work with the various responsible agencies on a joined up response to this problem."

The charity say it will continue to campaign for the protection and improvement of the River Brent and its surrounding green spaces. 

For more information on CURB, and to volunteer, visit their page on the Brent River Park website Follow them on X @BrentPollution, or join them on Facebook at CURB – Clean Up the River Brent.

An Ealing Council spokesperson has told Ealing Nub News: "Tackling the impact of climate change is a priority for the council, especially when you see the effect extreme weather can have locally after heavy rain. 

"Across the borough, the council has put a range of flood protection measures in place as part of a £28million investment to protect the environment and encourage active travel.

"These include more green spaces and trees on footways and sustainable drainage systems in parks to soak up rainwater. 

"Our Highways team also carries out regular cleaning and inspection of road drains and gullies to clear them of leaves and other blockages so that surface rainwater can flow into the drains as quickly as possible. 

"Thames Water owns and is responsible for the sewer system which the rain should be able to flow into. They have publicly acknowledged that the infrastructure is old and can't always cope with large volumes of rainwater from sudden downpours. This can result in flooding on the road as seen during the heavy rain last week. 

"We will continue to work with partners including the Environment Agency, Greater London Authority and Thames Water to reduce the risk and impact of flooding."

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