Stoke-on-Trent City Council has set out a new action plan to help the city’s drainage system cope with heavier rainfall and reduce the risk of flooding.
The plan includes increasing gully cleaning, strengthening maintenance of drainage infrastructure and working more closely with partners to improve how the system performs during extreme weather.
As part of the approach, the council will double the number of gully tankers and recruit additional staff to carry out more frequent cleaning and inspections across the city.
The city council has also committed to working closely with Severn Trent to make sure regular maintenance of their sewers is carried out and they are able to carry more water during heavy rain.
The plan follows flooding incidents across the city during last winter, when around 20mm of rain fell in just two hours. Council teams responded to 52 incidents, including blocked drains, overflowing sewers and drainage systems unable to cope with the volume of water.
Analysis of the incidents showed that around half were linked to the public sewer network, which is managed by Severn Trent, reinforcing the need for a coordinated approach.
Now the authority has developed an action plan for next steps – with the support of additional funding:
- Enhanced proactive maintenance: Routine gully cleansing and inspections will be increased by doubling the number of gully tankers and recruiting staff to operate them
- Drainage asset management: A new drainage asset engineer will develop a long‑term plan for maintaining and upgrading drainage infrastructure.
- Strategic improvements: High‑risk locations identified through surveys and flood data will receive focused drainage upgrades.
- Future-proofing: Designs and operations will be reviewed to better manage intense rainfall and changing weather patterns.
A spokesperson for Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “We know how disruptive and damaging flooding can be for residents and motorists alike.
"That's why we are taking decisive action to tackle flooding hotspots across the city.
"We are doubling the number of gully tankers, recruiting extra staff and boosting the number of clean-ups and inspections.
"We will also work closely with Severn Trent to make sure sewers are properly maintained.
"As a council we can't predict the weather - but we can and will make sure we are doing all we can to protect people and property when extreme weather hits."
These measures aim to improve resilience for residents and the highway network and ensure the city is better prepared for extreme weather.
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