Stormy weather sparks doubling of calls to Severn Trent

Pete Collins, waste water manager for Severn Trent, said: “Over the last few days, we’ve seen more than double the amount of calls that we would normally see at this time of year. Most of these calls are to get advice on or to report incidents of flooding, which we are monitoring and keeping a close eye on.

“We were aware that this weather was coming and we’ve worked hard to get ready for it. We’ve got extra staff on the phones in our call centre and additional teams available on the ground to deal with flooding issues. We’re also out and about keeping an eye on those areas with a high risk of flooding.”

Mr Collins offered advice for customers experiencing flooding. He said: “If you have flooding at your home, check to see if it’s just rainwater or if it’s sewage that has come from an overflowing sewer, possibly through a manhole cover in your garden or outside your property.

“If it’s just rainwater, the flooding should subside when it stops raining, although it can take up to four hours for water to drain away, so be patient.

“Where sewage is escaping, this is obviously a priority for us, so please call us on 0800 783 4444 and we’ll get a team out to help as quickly as possible.

“If you’re concerned about flooding from drains and gullies in the road, you should call the local council as they are responsible for road drainage but, again, we generally find that the flooding will go away when it stops raining.”

He added: “We’d like to reassure our customers that we are doing everything that we can to deal with flooding issues as quickly as possible and ask them for their patience during this time.

“Unfortunately, in stormy weather, the drains and sewers often have significantly more water flowing through them.

“When the weather has been as dry as it has been for the past few weeks, the rain has a hard time sinking into the hard and compacted soil, so it just runs off the surface and goes directly into drains and sewers.”