A single blocked drain can flood a road, undermine the tarmac, and turn a rainy afternoon into a hazard for every driver and pedestrian on the street. Yet blocked gullies are some of the most under-reported civic problems — until they cause flooding, most people walk straight past them. This guide shows you how to report a blocked drain so it actually gets cleared, who is responsible for drainage works, and how to make sure a recurring problem gets a permanent fix.

How to spot a blocked drain

You don't need to be an engineer. The tell-tale signs are: water pooling around a roadside grate long after the rain has stopped; a gully that's visibly full of leaves, silt or litter; a bad smell near a drain; or the same patch of road flooding every time it rains. Any of these is worth reporting — early reports prevent the bigger, more expensive failures.

1. Photograph the drain

Take a clear photo from directly above the grate or gully showing the blockage. If you can see the cause — leaves, plastic, a collapsed cover — get it in frame. If the drain is already causing water to pool, a second wider shot showing the standing water makes the impact obvious to whoever picks up the report.

2. Pin the exact location

Drains are easy to miss, so an accurate pin matters. OpenStreetProblem uses your GPS to place it; drag it precisely onto the grate and add a landmark in the description ("gully outside the chemist", "grate on the corner of the junction"). Drainage crews work from a list of locations — make yours unmissable.

3. Who is responsible for drainage works?

This is where most people get stuck. Roadside drains and gullies are generally maintained by the local council or the highways authority for that road. The larger sewer network belongs to your water company. Drains entirely on private land are the owner's responsibility. You don't need to work out which one applies — report the public-road or pavement drain on OpenStreetProblem and the public record is visible to the bodies and contractors that cover your area.

4. Flag recurring blockages

A drain that blocks once gets cleared. A drain that blocks every winter needs a structural fix — and the only way the council knows the difference is if the history is visible. In your description, say plainly: "this floods every time it rains" or "third time blocked this year." On OpenStreetProblem that history is public and permanent, which is exactly the evidence that turns a repeat temporary clear into a proper repair.

5. Let neighbours verify, then track the fix

Once your report is live, neighbours can upvote it and add their own photos — powerful when a blocked drain affects a whole street. From there you follow the status in real time: open → acknowledged → in progress → resolved. No guessing whether the drainage works actually happened; the record shows it.

Blocked drain, flooding, or road damage?

These three often travel together. Report a blocked drain when the problem is the drain itself. If water is actively pooling or rising, also see how to report flooding in your neighbourhood. If the standing water has started to break up the road surface, that's road damage — and worth a separate report so both the cause and the effect are on record.

Ready to report a blocked drain?

Clear drains are invisible until they fail. Reporting the early signs is the cheapest way to stop the flood that follows. See drainage issues reported near you or report a blocked drain in 60 seconds.