If you are looking for our dedicated Luton flood page, we have now moved to focus on Enfield. Follow this link to find Luton-related flood information: Luton and flooding (link opens a new window)

Preparing Enfield for flooding

The Environment Agency, working with local councils, are focussing on specific areas at risk of flooding. We will provide you with practical and relevant information to increase your flood resilience. We also want to hear your experiences to help improve our flood work in the future. For the next three months, we are focussing on Enfield.

On this page, you can find:

• Practical advice on how to prepare, respond and recover from flooding.
• Enfield's flood risk and history,
• What the Environment Agency, Enfield Council and other authorities do to manage flood risk,
• Ways to tell us how we are doing and improve our knowledge (links open a new window) .

Our advice will help you get back to normal after a flood in an easier, cheaper and faster way.

Prepare for Flooding

Know your risk. You can check your flood risk and the source of flooding on the gov.uk website (link opens a new window). Enter your postcode and select your address.

Main river flood risk

We manage the Flood Warning Service. If you are at main river risk, sign up to this free service on the gov.uk website (link opens a new window).

It will give you advanced warning of potential flooding. See our Extra Steps (link opens a new window) for more information on flood warnings and what actions to take.

Surface water flood risk

If you are at risk of surface water ding (also known as flash flooding), you can sign up to weather alerts on the met office website (link opens a new window).

Take the extra steps (link opens a new window) and find out about creating personal, community and business flood plans along with how to become a volunteer flood warden.

Stay safe during a flood

Know what our flood symbols mean (link opens a new window) and respond accordingly

Use your flood plan to keep you and your possessions safe:

Remember to: move them upstairs, prepare an emergency kit, turn off your gas, water and electricity. Do not touch the electricity supply if you are standing in flood water.

Our Extra Steps Respond section (link opens a new window) gives more information on staying safe during a flood and when to take action to reduce flooding's impact.

Get back to normal

Recovering from a flood can take a long time. It can also have a big impact on your health and mental wellbeing.

Preparing a flood plan will help you recover faster by reducing the impact of flooding and making sure you have all your important documents in a safe place.

Remember: Avoid entering flood water, take breaks when cleaning, use only use suitable equipment when cleaning.

See our Extra Steps for:

1. staying safe, both physically and mentally
2. practical advice on insurance, drying and cleaning your property.

Enfield's flood risk

Flooding in Enfield comes from many sources, including fluvial (river), surface water, groundwater and sewer flooding. However, the greatest risk of flooding in Enfield comes from fluvial and surface water flooding.

Enfield benefits from over 100km of river running through it, but this natural asset also brings challenges. River flooding can occur when high flows exceed the capacity of the river banks. Four main rivers contribute to this risk: the Salmons Brook, Pymmes Brook, Turkey Brook and the River Lee.

Surface water flooding (also known as flash flooding) refers to flooding from the street caused by rainwater not draining away, due to insufficient capacity in the drainage system. The latest data from the Environment Agency states that over one quarter of properties at high surface water flood risk are in London.

The last significant flooding event occurred in 2001 on Montagu Road in Edmonton. 192 properties flooded which led to significant damage to people’s properties and key infrastructure. We encourage everyone to check their flood risk (link opens a new window), so you know what your flood risk is and how to prepare.

With climate change increasing flood frequency and severity, understanding and managing these risks is vital for protecting the community.

What Enfield Council is doing to reduce flood risk

Enfield Council is delivering an ambitious programme of natural flood management (link opens a new window) measures and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) (link opens a new window) to help reduce flood risk across the borough. This forward-looking approach goes beyond traditional hard engineering solutions by using nature-based interventions that deliver multiple benefits.

Natural Flood Management techniques include woodland creation, river restoration, attenuation ponds and the reintroduction of beavers, all of which help slow and store water during heavy rainfall events. Sustainable drainage systems such as constructed wetlands, rain gardens and tree pits reduce runoff, improve water quality and enhance local biodiversity.

More information abouts the Council’s objectives and commitments can be found in Enfield Council’s Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (link opens a new window)

Rain Gardens – Green Lanes

This scheme involved the construction of 19 rain gardens on Green Lanes, south of the A406, between Sidney Road and Kelvin Avenue. This section of Green Lanes was prone to flooding due to local topography and lack of capacity in the local drainage network. A flood modelling study found that providing rain gardens in this area would protect 12 local properties for an extreme flood event as well as reducing flood risk to the local road network which is a principal road and key transport link in Enfield.

Salmons Brook River Restoration – planned for the future

Enfield Council are planning the restoration of 3.3km of the Salmons Brook as it flows through the rural part of Enfield Chase between Stagg Hill and Hadley Road. The river will be restored to a natural state and will be reconnected to its floodplain. The channel has been modified in the past to promote agriculture and is now overly deep with steep sides. During storm events the channel readily conveys water downstream into Edmonton which can lead to flash flooding. This restoration will allow the floodplain to be activated giving the brook more space to spill and slowdown peak flows.

This project has the potential to reduce flood risk for roughly 2,000 downstream properties, as well as creating new riparian, wetland and woodland habitats.

Roles and Responsibilities

Enfield's flood risk is complex, and who is responsible for managing the different causes of flooding is also complicated. To help, we have teamed up with Enfield Council to create this breakdown of responsibilities. Please note, by responsible we refer to managing the flood risk and not responding to incidents, this falls to the emergency services.

How flood risk is changing

Climate change is causing weather patterns more extreme and unpredictable, increasing the risk of flooding.

Local responses are, therefore, increasingly more important.

We are here to help local residents and businesses take more control of flood risk, reducing flood impact, meaning you get back to normal as quickly as possible.

Prepare: take control and be ready

Planning for flooding is straightforward, quick and free. Preparation saves you money and time, meaning getting back to normal quicker.

Local Resilience Forums help to coordinate responses to emergencies such as flooding. You can find more local information for London(link opens a new window) as well as contact information.