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Cellar flooded in Keighley? Who to report it to

Published / last updated 26 October 2026

GOV.UK says who to contact depends on what is flooding: your water company for blocked sewers and burst mains, your local council (Bradford Council for Keighley) for public drains, small watercourses and groundwater, and the Environment Agency for main rivers. Flooding from a private drain is the property owner’s responsibility. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999.

Book a cellar discovery survey in Keighley

01535 920438

Illustration: reporting a flooded cellar in Keighley

Illustration, not a site photo.

Safety first, in one paragraph

For first response on a wet day in a Keighley cellar — electricity, stop adding water, photograph the water line — use our flooded cellar in Keighley page. From GOV.UK: what to do before or during a flood: call 999 if you are in immediate danger; do not touch an electrical switch if you are standing in water; turn off gas, electricity and water only if it is safe to do so. We are not an emergency electrician or a 24/7 flood-restoration franchise.

Who to contact, by source of water

Wording below follows GOV.UK: report a flood or possible cause of flooding. Keighley sits in City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council — so “local council” here means Bradford Council. Bradford’s own guidance is at what to do if it floods and the council’s flooding hub.

Source of water	Who GOV.UK says to contact
Sewers / burst water mains	Your local water company
Public drains / flooded roads	Local council (Bradford Council for Keighley)
Small rivers, brooks, streams	Local council
Groundwater (water rising up through the ground)	Local council
Main rivers	Environment Agency incident hotline 0800 80 70 60 (24 hours), as listed on GOV.UK
Private drains	Property owner

We do not name a water company or invent its phone number on this page — check the company’s own site if you need the number. If you cannot tell which source it is, report what you can see and note it for the survey. The four Keighley water patterns (valley groundwater, mill-era drain surcharge, rain through stone, shared rear wall) are on the flooded cellar page — we do not repeat that list here.

Private drain or public sewer? Why it matters for the fix

GOV.UK puts private drains on the owner. A drain that backs up into a cellar may raise a non-return or discharge question, which the survey looks at when you are ready for a waterproofing visit. For where pumped water goes on this stock, see sump pumps in Keighley cellars. Drainage design sits under Building Regulations guidance named Approved Document H — we name it for context only; this is not legal advice and we do not paste clause text.

Insurance, landlords and records

From GOV.UK: what to do after a flood: contact your insurer to start a claim; if you rent, your landlord is responsible for repairs; take photos of the damage and the flood water line before clearing up. We make no claims about what any policy covers. Photographing the water line also helps a later survey.

Know your area’s risk

GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service covers rivers and sea, surface water, reservoirs and groundwater where data is available. It does not tell you how likely an individual property is to flood. You can also sign up for flood warnings. We do not quote a Keighley risk score on this page.

When the water source is fixed but the cellar is still wet

Reporting can fix public assets. It does not dry a cellar that still takes on groundwater through the structure. That is when a survey decides between Type C and tanking. Read Type C cavity drain for Keighley cellars, cellar tanking in Keighley, and what changes cellar waterproofing cost (no prices on this spoke). Moisture resistance of walls and floors is also framed in Approved Document C.

Next step

Report what you can see using the GOV.UK routing above, keep your photos, then book a cellar discovery survey in Keighley once the room is safe to enter. Or call 01535 920438. Home: cellar waterproofing in Keighley.

FAQs

Is groundwater flooding the council’s job?

GOV.UK routes groundwater flooding to your local council. For Keighley that is Bradford Council. Reporting a public issue is separate from waterproofing a cellar that still takes water through the structure.

Who fixes a private drain?

GOV.UK says flooding from a private drain is the property owner’s responsibility. A survey can still look at how that drain interacts with a cellar waterproofing proposal.

Do I need a survey before I report it?

No. Report first using the GOV.UK routing. Book a survey later when you need a waterproofing specification — after first response and once the room is safe to enter.