A highway gully or drain is a drainage pit usually covered by an open metal grating at the edge of the road. Its purpose is to drain rainwater from the highway into the sewerage system.

Blocked drains

If a drain appears to be blocked after heavy rain, give it some time for the water to drain away before reporting it. If it is blocked after a while, then you can report it.

If you report a blocked drain, defects that are hazardous or serious will be prioritised. Hazardous defects will be repaired within 24 hours and serious defects will be repaired within 7 days.

Hazardous defects in drains

If a blocked drain or gully has flooded the public highway, we aim to clear it within 24 hours of your report to us. If a drain cover is damaged or missing, we’ll make it safe within 24 hours of your report.

Other drain defects

We aim to repair other defects that are not serious or hazardous within 28 working days. We don’t have the resources to repair every defect within that timescale, so we prioritise the more serious and potentially dangerous defects.

Use our form to report flooding on public highways, gullies and drains. To use the form, you need to be signed in to your Barking and Dagenham council My Account. If you don’t have one, you can register for My B&D Account.

Report flooding

If you've made a report previously you can check the progress of your report