With around 4.6 million properties in the UK at risk of pluvial flooding, it’s important to understand where this risk comes from, what it means for you as a property buyer or homeowner and how to make your home more resilient to this type of flooding.

What is pluvial flooding?

Pluvial flooding refers to flooding caused by surface water. This could be the result of heavy rainfall not draining away quickly enough or overflowing drains. In urban areas, the drainage is often man-made and there isn’t as much natural ground to absorb the water. This can exacerbate the level of surface water flooding. Outdated drainage infrastructures can also create problems, such as smaller drain pipes which don’t accommodate the more intense rainstorms of today.

What’s the difference between fluvial and pluvial flooding?

While the term ‘pluvial’ refers to surface water flooding, you may also have heard of Fluvial flooding which is all about the rivers. When streams, rivers or brooks overflow or ‘burst’ their banks, this is fluvial flooding. The third category of flooding is coastal, which, as you can probably guess, relates to any flooding caused by the sea.

Why is it important to know about the types of flooding?

Knowing what type of flooding could affect your property is important. Getting clarity on the type and severity of flooding and how to mitigate the risks can support your ability to secure a mortgage or insurance for your home. It will also provide peace of mind that you know the risks and can subsequently identify the best property flood resilience measures for your home.

The most effective way to find out what type of flood risk could affect your property, you should get a flood risk report. This will flag the types of flooding, the projected level of risk, what mitigation measures are already in place in your area and how this might affect your ability to get insurance.

What steps can you take to reduce pluvial flooding at your property?

Leveraging government advice and solutions that more homeowners are trialling, these are some of the steps you can take to reduce pluvial flooding at your property.

• Clean drains and gutters

Cleaning drains and gutters ensures that the water flows freely away from your property and underground, rather than pooling on the surface.

• Install flood-resistant doors

Another solution includes property flood resilience measures, such as flood-resistant doors. An alternative to traditional flood barriers, these doors can be placed outside your front or back door to prevent water seeping in. The watertight seals and robust locking points makes for a secure barrier against pluvial flooding.

• Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)

Sustainable drainage systems are all about enabling stormwater to mimic natural drainage processes. Examples include rainwater harvesting systems which feature water butt installations that enable homeowners to convert rainwater into usable water for their washing machine, garden hose or irrigation. It removes water from the streets and saves homeowners money on their water bills—making this an attractive prospect.

Infiltration solutions include soakaways, permeable paveways and trenches which provide an outlet for rainwater to go into the ground. Green roofs can also provide rainwater-absorbing vegetation, while boosting insulation the natural way.

Knowing what you can do to reduce the risk of surface water flooding should help empower you to make a positive impact.

However, the best outcome is always a joint effort between local authorities, organisations and individual homeowners to create urban environments that absorb and drain as much rainwater as possible. This is something we’ve seen in cities such as Copenhagen in Denmark. From building cloudbursts (tunnels that house thousands of cubic metres of water) to reducing the amount of non-porous materials used in urban planning.

Do your bit to protect your property and its value

To do your bit to protect your property and the surrounding neighbourhood from surface water flooding, speaking to flood risk consultants is a great starting point. They can assess your property for pluvial and other types of flooding with site-specific data analysis and recommendations.

Investing in a professional flood risk report when buying a house can help protect your long-term property value and safety. With Ashfield Solutions, homeowners and property buyers are in good hands, with prompt turnarounds on reports and a fully comprehensive picture of the flood risk. We go further than other flood risk report providers.