Camden publishes report into floods which affected parts of the borough last year
Camden Council has published its Flood Investigation report into flash floods that took place in July 2021 and affected over 100 homes in the borough.
The report outlines the impacts of the floods, the main factors that contributed to the flooding as well as recommendations on what can be done to limit the impact of future flooding.
Camden appointed AECOM to complete the Flood Investigation report which was produced in consultation with residents, neighbouring local authorities and partners including Thames Water and the London Fire Brigade.
The findings and recommendations of the Flood Investigation Report will be incorporated into a new Flood Risk Management Strategy for Camden which will be published for consultation in the late summer.
This will include details of several new funding applications made to Thames Water to help areas affected by last year’s flooding adapt to a changing climate.
The flash flooding that hit Camden and places across London last year is yet another reminder of the reality of the Climate Emergency.
We expect to see increased rainfall in the years to come. While we cannot prevent flooding from happening entirely, we will do everything we can to stop it. Within the borough, we will continue to do what we can to green up our streets, introduce sustainable urban drainage (SUDS) to help mitigate periods of heavy rainfall, and also press hard for the Thames Water part of the sewer network to expand to cope with more frequent large storm events.
More broadly we must cut also cut carbon generated in the borough, which means: decarbonising travel, enabling people to get around Camden more easily by walking, cycling and public transport; retrofitting our buildings, such as the current large retrofit project at Swiss Cottage Library – we must go further on this; and transitioning towards a circular economy in which we use less material, and reuse and repair what we do use.
Finally, we must also help our communities prepare for more extreme weather and support our residents when they are affected. Increasing the borough’s resilience to extremes of the weather and keeping Camden residents safe is a top priority as we learn to adapt to the changes in climate as well as seeking to slow them.
Thames Water have also commissioned the London Flood Review, an independent four-stage report assessing the impacts of flooding and providing recommendations for how to manage flood risk across London. The final stage is due in July.
Read Camden’s full Flood Investigation Report
Find out more about what Camden is doing to help tackle the climate crisis by visiting camden.gov.uk/climate-crisis.