Flood Resilience Measures
There are currently no flood resilience grants available. You will be notified if and when they become available again.
Flood resilience measures are things you can do to your home to help minimise the effects of a flood. Some resilience measures can be done by yourself and some will have to be done by professional, reputable builders and trades people.
For example:
Help yourself
• Obtain, and keep handy, a supply of sand bags. You will need enough to protect the door to your property nearest the direction of the flood water. Don’t forget entrances to any cellars and garages you may have.
• Fit a sump pump in cellars. These should be wired to an electrical supply above the highest point of your cellar.
• At a reasonable cost you can purchase a flood gate. Again these should be kept in a location that is quickly and easily available.
• Anti-flood devices can be fitted to waste pipes that are located above ground. These are easily fitted and stop the flow of water back into the house through baths, showers and sinks etc located on the ground floor of a property.
• If you keep appliances such as washing machines or dryers on the floor in a utility room, garage or out building, make sure these are lifted of the floor onto blocks or stands.
Help from others
• Replace your existing door with a flood proof door. These are not cheap but DO work. These are also available for heritage and conservation areas.
• If you are considering new carpets, consider floor tiles with under floor heating. With tiles, once the water has gone, you can wash out the debris with a hose pipe in minutes.
• Anti-flood devices are available for toilets, these are normally fitted under ground on the flow to the drain from your toilet outlet.
• Air bricks which are normally built into the wall around the outside of your home (dependant on the type of construction), can have fitted valve which seal water tight during a flood and release automatically when the flood water subsides. This stops water entering your home through the walls.
• If you have a cellar which contains your electric and or gas meter you may want to consider having them moved to a higher position in your home. If your cellar floods, your electrics will blow and will require full replacement of the meter. You may not be covered on your insurance for this. As for the gas meter, this may allow water to enter the meter. This would need to be checked by your service provider before being tested and turned on again.
• If your central heating boiler is floor mounted, sat on the floor, or located in a cellar, you may wish to consider having it relocated to higher ground. If your boiler is flooded, it will need to be replaced.
Resilience suppliers:
Click on the links below for more info...
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods31644.aspx
www.bluepages.org.uk
www.stormmeister.com
www.stormguardfloodplan.com
www.floodsafeprojects.co.uk